Luna Academy
by Cyrene Lysandra
Summary: This is a Modern Day AU for the Lunar Chronicles, where they all attend Luna Academy, a prestigious boarding school
1. The First Day

Cinder kept her head ducked, trying to to draw any attention to herself. But apparently, her friend Iko had other ideas.  
"Cinder, isn't this amazing?" She gushed, snapping pictures on her phone and waving at everyone.  
Cinder rolled her eyes. "Yeah, really amazing. Come on, let's find our class and get this over with."  
When Iko didn't reply, she looked over at her friend, who was playing with her blue braided hair.  
Cinder was about to turn into the classroom when Iko grabbed her.  
"What?"she whispered.  
Frowning, Iko looked Cinder over.  
She was wearing baggy cargo pants and a t-shirt with grease stains all over it, and muddy sneakers.  
"Stars, Cinder, this is school! Not a garage."  
Cinder tucked a loose strand into her ponytail. "Better?"  
"That literally did nothing, but whatever." Iko pushed her into homeroom.  
A sneering teacher was taking attendance.  
"We have Mr. Park? He's the worst!" Iko whispered.  
He turned to them. "You're late. Have a seat. Scarlet Benoit?"  
"Here," a redhead girl in the back said sharply.  
"Bonjour, Scarlet," a boy sitting in the corner murmered, winking at her.  
Scarlet glared at him. "Shut up."  
"Jacin Clay?"  
Cinder stopped paying attention to the teacher and began observing the kids around her, aimlessly poking her fingers through a hole in her shirt.  
Finally, Mr. Park got to her. "Cinder Linh?"  
"Here," she mumbled.  
"Ah, you and Iko were the ones late today. Well, I will mark this down, and should it happen again-" he traced a line across his throat with his finger, his expression dead serious.  
A dark haired Asian boy gave Cinder a small smile, like they were in on a secret. She felt her cheeks turn bright red from the unwanted attention, and turned towards Mr. Park as the bell shrieked loudly, startling them all.  
"First period," said Mr. Park, "and hurry, you wouldn't want to be late." He glared pointedly at Iko and Cinder.  
They quickly left. "Okay, let's see... We have math next. Oh yay! We're both in the advanced class!" Iko said happily.  
Despite her carefree, bubbly attitude, Iko was actually very smart, and had a very good memory.  
Suddenly, a petite blonde girl tapped Cinder's shoulder. She whirled around.  
"Um... you guys are going to, um the... advanced math class right?" the girl stuttered.  
"Yep! You're Crescent, right?" Iko replied, probably recalling the name from attendance.  
The girl, Crescent, nodded. "But just call me Cress... anyway, could I um, maybe walk with you guys? I don't really know anybody-"  
Another delicate voice cut her off. "Oh, well that's terrible!" A pretty girl from homeroom walked over, trailed by a grumpy-looking blonde boy. "I'm Winter. Your roommate, remember?" she said to Cress. "It's a pleasure to meet you."  
Cinder rolled her eyes and sighed. "Great, now it's a party."  
Iko elbowed her, then introduced them both to Winter before the blonde boy dragged her away, glaring at them all.  
"Anyway, Cress, you can walk with us... I just don't really know where it is..." Iko muttered, looking around.  
"Right here." Cinder grabbed her arm and pulled her into a classroom, Cress scurrying behind.

* * *

After a confusing, tedious math class, Cress's head was spinning. She followed the other two girls- Cinder and Iko - back into the hallway.  
"Electives next. Cinder, you and I have Robotics-"  
"I know," said Cinder sounding bored.  
Cress opened her notebook, then blushed as she turned to the wrong page. That page. Stars, no. She snapped it shut, hoping no one had seen. "Well," she squeaked, her voice an octave too high, "I don't have robotics, so see you at lunch."  
She shoved the notebook deep into her bag and ran away.  
Stars, why that page? The page with Carswell Thorne's name written all over it. Even though he probably didn't know she existed. He was in her homeroom, but hadn't paid her any attention. She was the only girl he hadn't acknowledged during attendance.  
As she walked to her Advanced Computer Programming elective, she tried to push all thoughts of Carswell Thorne far from her mind.

* * *

Scarlet was already bored. She'd only been to one class, but it was all pointless, useless information. She hated this school. It was only her first day, but already she missed the farm. She would have much rather been back home than sitting in a classroom, especially with that creepy, nasty teacher Mr. Park, and with that weird kid Carswell trying to flirt with her. Whatever. She'd already seen him do it to a million other girls, so she didn't care anymore.  
As she walked with her friend and roommate Emilie to study hall, she ranted about how boring and uneventful this all was.  
She had no homework, so in study hall, all she was focused on was fixing the stuck zipper on her red hoodie. She sighed and blew a red curl out of her face, then pulled out her phone and put her earbuds in.  
"Scarlet. Scarlet!" Emilie was jabbing her finger into Scarlet's side.  
She yanked out her earbuds and looked up. A tall boy with green eyes was towering above her. He'd been in her homeroom, but she could not for the life of her remember his name. "Um, yeah?"  
"Could you move your bag?" he muttered.  
"Uh, sure..." Scarlet shoved her bag onto the floor, allowing the boy to sit.  
Emilie's eyes were wide. She was sitting to the other side of Scarlet.  
"Wow, those eyes..." she whispered, looking at the boy's emerald eyes.  
Scarlet groaned, then grabbed her left earbud and stuck it back in, leaving the other ear open, then hissed at Emilie: "Stop staring,"  
"I'm not," Emilie protested, still staring.  
"Yeah, you're not staring and I'm the Queen of France," replied Scarlet sarcastically.  
The boy made a sort of growling noise.  
"Nice to meet you," Scarlet deadpanned, "I'm Scarlet. Like the hair, before you ask."  
"I'm Emilie," Emilie said, twirling a blond curl around her finger.  
The boy seemed oblivious to Emilie's flirting, and he frowned as Scarlet stuck her other earbud in and grabbed a pack of gum from her bag.  
The boy reached over and snatched a piece.  
"What do you think you're doing?" snapped Scarlet.  
"Jeez, Ginger, I just wanted some gum." The boy growled again.  
Scarlet jumped to her feet. "Give. It. Back. And never, ever call me Ginger."  
"Fight me," replied the boy, cocking his head. He seemed more curious than angry.  
Scarlet punched him.  
In an instant, the teacher was pulling her away, and the boy was smiling. Smiling.  
"I'm Wolf," he said, "And it was a pleasure to meet you too, Scarlet."

* * *

Winter tried to ignore the boys who kept coming over to her. She tried to ignore Jacin glaring at every one of them.  
She was grateful he was there, of course, but was beginning to think that she'd never have any friends. She'd waved at the girls she'd met earlier, Iko and Cinder, when she'd passed them in the hallway, and also made it a point to talk to Cress, her roommate. Though Cress always stayed in the shadows, and barely spoke.  
The school was absolutely amazing, every aspect of it. As she'd gazed around in wonder, Jacin had rolled her eyes beside her. She was happy he was there, because she could never have imagined going to boarding school without her best friend, but she felt bad that he always had to be near her.  
Winter knew he'd hated the Sewing elective she'd took.  
"Jacin, you can leave and go do what you want," she said to him, "here, they have a Medical Microbiology course, don't you want to take this?"  
"I'm fine, Winter," he said, "I don't mind."  
"Please, Jacin. I saw you in Sewing," she laughed, remembering how he'd sat in the corner, refusing to do anything.  
Jacin sighed. "You'll be okay, right?"  
"Of course, Sir Clay," Winter joked, stealing the title from the Princess and the Guard, a game they'd played so long ago.  
"If you say so, Princess," Jacin cracked a small smile before walking away to Medical Microbiology.

* * *

Iko collapsed onto her bed in the dorm room she shared with Cinder, scrolling through texts on her phone.  
"Carswell is having a party," she told Cinder.  
"You're not going," Cinder replied.  
Iko frowned. "Why? I bet Kai will be there," she tried.  
"Who?" asked Cinder.  
"Um, Kaito. The boy you were blushing at this morning."  
"I was not," said Cinder, blushing as she spoke.  
Iko rolled over on the bed, flipping her head so she was looking at Cinder upside-down.  
"Anyway," Cinder continued, "we have homework."  
Stars, she'd forgotten about homework. Iko pushed herself up, grabbed her bag, and dumped its contents onto her bed. "Ugh, why do we have so much?!"  
Cinder flipped open a binder. "I wrote down all of our homework."  
"Thank you, because I sure didn't." Iko replied, coming to look at the binder over Cinder's shoulder. The list of assignments was just so long.  
"Well so much for that party. Or any party. Ever." She grumbled, grabbing her books. "We'd better get started."


	2. Carswell's Party

Carswell grinned as he opened the door to let in even more people. His roommate, Jacin, shot him yet another death glare.  
"What?" He asked innocently.  
Jacin rolled his eyes and said something, but his words were lost over the pounding music.  
Carswell shrugged and plunged into the crowd, leaving Jacin to open the door for the next person, a short blonde girl.  
"I was wondering... well, I'm a floor below...and its really loud, so if you could-" she clutched her books to her chest.  
Jacin squeezed his eyes shut against the headache. "I'll tell Carswell to lower the music."  
The girl nearly fell over. "This is Carswell Thorne's room! Stars, I forgot! Um, nice to meet you-" In her rush to get away, she bumped into the doorframe and dropped one of her notebooks, but before Jacin could tell her, she was gone.

* * *

Cress bolted down the stairs and into her room, panting and out of breath. Winter was lying on her stomach on the bed, bent over a small square of fabric, needle in the other hand. "Did you tell them to turn it off?"  
"Yeah... well, I told them to at least lower it." Cress rummaged through her books. Where was her notebook?  
"Well that is a good compromise," Winter replied, reaching for a spool of thread. "You can do your work in peace now."  
Cress walked over to see what Winter was embroidering. It was a small pattern of snowflakes. "Hey, don't you have homework?"  
"Yes, but this is much more fun, and useful." Winter said, adding another stitch.  
Cress rolled her eyes. "You have to do your homework, Winter."  
Winter sighed, then grabbed her handmade bag, and took out her books.  
As they did their work, Cress thought wistfully of the party going on above them. She remembered all the people who'd been there, dancing and talking.  
She could never do that, never be one of them.  
The music never actually got turned down, but Cress didn't have the guts to go ask again.  
Not when it was Carswell Thorne's room.

* * *

After about five minutes, Scarlet gave up on her homework. Like everything else at this school, it was pointless. She had detention the next day, but she was not mad at Wolf. It'd actually been rather entertaining, practically the only interesting thing about today.  
That and Carswell's party, which Emilie was dragging her to. The music was too loud, and Scarlet had a headache before she even walked in. "Are you sure you want to go?" she asked Emilie.  
Suddenly, she saw a familiar flash of green eyes. Wolf.  
She wanted to talk to him, know more about him.  
Emilie knocked on the door, and Carswell opened it. Before he could say one word, Scarlet cut him off. "Don't even think about trying to flirt with me."  
She pushed past him, leaving Emilie in the doorway to stare blankly at Carswell.  
Wolf was in the corner, arm wrestling another boy. He beat him almost instantly.  
Scarlet stalked over. "I'm next."  
Wolf raised his eyebrows. "Okay, if you say so."  
A few minutes later, they were still going, both of them refusing to lose. Scarlet's arm was sore and barely staying up, but she did not relent. Wolf whistled appreciatively, but in the end, he won.  
"Not bad," he muttered.  
"Not bad?! I bet I lasted ten times longer then anyone else!" she exclaimed.  
Wolf shrugged. Scarlet stormed off, wondering how he could be so infuriating.

* * *

Walking over to the door, Carswell nearly tripped on a pale blue notebook. He bent to pick it up. There was no name on the cover, so he flipped through the pages hoping to find who it belonged to. One page made him stop, and he grinned. His name, written over and over in different colors. He had seen a number of girls do this.  
Now he really needed to know who it was.  
Finally, he found her name: Crescent Moon Darnel.  
Oh, it was her. This was very, very bad.  
He left the party to go find her room.

* * *

"This music is so loud!" Cinder grumbled.  
Next to her, Iko was plugging her ears. "I can't even focus on- what is this homework again?- 'the rational roots theorem.'"  
"I am going to run upstairs and give Carswell Thorne a piece of my mind," Cinder snapped as there was a knock on the door.  
"What?!" she yanked it open, then faltered. It was the boy from homeroom. Kai.  
He shrank back. "Um, are you going to Carswell's party...?"  
Iko pushed her out the door. "Now she is!"  
"Iko-" Cinder started, but she slammed the door in her face, leaving her standing awkwardly next to Kai.  
"Well then." Kai started up the stairs.  
Cinder didn't know what to make of Kai. Often he was trailed by a bunch of screaming girls.  
So why did he pick her?  
As they approached Carswell's room, all she could think of was her unfinished math homework. And science homework. And-  
The blond boy she'd seen with Winter earlier opened the door and she followed Kai inside.  
It was crowded and chaotic. There was music, and snacks scattered mostly on the floor, and a few people arm wrestling in the corner.  
Cinder felt her head throb. Kai said something, but she couldn't hear him.  
"Do you want any snacks?" Kai yelled.  
"They're all on the floor, so no thanks," Cinder yelled back.  
Kai laughed, before being swept away by a crowd of girls, laeving Cinder by herself, awkwardly standing in the middle of the dance floor.  
Quickly she ran to the arm-wrestling corner, where the red-haired girl from homeroom was yelling at a much bigger boy with green eyes. The girl marched away, fuming, and walked right into Cinder.  
"Sorry," she said.  
"It's okay," Cinder replied.  
She heard Iko's voice in her head, telling her to be more social. "I'm Cinder." she told the girl.  
"I'm Scarlet," the girl replied.  
"Like the-"  
"Like the hair," Scarlet cut her off.  
"I bet you get that a lot...sorry."  
"I'm used to it." Scarlet laughed.  
They kept talking as they sat down in the back, and by the end of the party, Cinder was sure she had a new friend.  
Iko would be happy.

* * *

Cress was doing her homework when there was a knock on the door.  
"I'll get it," she told Winter, going to open it.  
It was Carswell. Carswell Thorne, smiling at her, holding out her notebook. That notebook.  
No, no, no, Stars no.  
"I found this in my room," he said smoothly.  
Cress tried to say something, but all that came out was a squeaking noise.  
She snatched the book, and slammed the door in his face.  
She heard his muffled "You're welcome," and buried her face in her hands.  
Winter looked up from her work. "That went well, Cress."  
Cress flipped through the notebook, having no way to know if he'd seen it. Stars, she was so embarrassed. How could she ever look at him again? Ever talk to him again?  
She went back to her homework, but couldn't focus. All she could think about was stupid Carswell Thorne and his stupid party and her stupid notebook.  
She had no idea how she was going to face him tomorrow.


	3. Aimery Park

The next day in homeroom, Jacin was absolutely exhausted. Carswell's party hadn't ended until long after midnight, and he hadn't slept well. Winter kept glancing worriedly at him, and that was probably the worst part.  
Despite everything she'd said, he still felt guilty about going to Medical Microbiology yesterday. He tried to ignore her as Mr. Park took attendance, leering at them all. Stars, he hated this teacher.  
"Scarlet Benoit?"  
"Here."  
"Ah it says here you have detention today... for punching Ze'ev Kesley." Mr. Park raised his eyebrows at Ze'ev, a huge boy who was scowling menacingly at him.  
"Well I for one applaud Miss Benoit," Ze'ev said.  
Mr. Park smiled, and Jacin felt a shiver run down his spine.  
"Jacin Clay?"  
He started .  
"What are your thoughts on Miss Benoit's actions?"  
This was a trap. Jacin struggled to find the right thing to say.  
"Jacin believes it was very good of Scarlet to stand up for herself." A voice called out from near him.  
Dammit Winter, he thought, as Mr. Park turned his attention to her.  
"And are you a mind reader, Winter?" He asked.  
Jacin didn't look at her.  
"Well?"  
"No, but I know-" Winter trailed off.  
"I thought so. Detention."  
"What?" Jacin sputtered. "For what?"

* * *

Winter didn't like Mr. Park. He was the one dark spot at the school. She wondered why he'd decided to teach if he hated everyone so much.  
She wasn't that upset about detention anyways. Jacin probably cared more than her, and she didn't know what to make of that.  
"Jacin, I don't mind detention," she said to him now.  
"Well I do, especially if it's for no reason!" He was going to be in so much trouble.  
Thankfully, the bell saved him, and Winter ran to catch up with her new friends, Cinder and Iko in the hallway.  
"Hello," she said.  
"Hey Winter!" Iko replied enthusiastically.  
Cinder grunted unintelligibly.  
"Have you seen Cress? She was very nervous about seeing, um, about coming in today..." Winter bit her lip, silently scolding herself for nearly betraying Cress's secret.  
"She's your roommate," Cinder said pointedly.  
Winter pursed her lips. "Yes, but I haven't seen her since this morning, I don't think she came to homeroom..."  
Suddenly, Jacin was beside her, hissing in her ear, "you're going to be late. You do not need another detention."  
She let him pull her away, waving goodbye to Iko and Cinder.

* * *

"No, no, no why does the world hate me so much?!" Iko said, looking at her schedule. "I have that awful Mr. Park, see?"  
She thrust her paper in Cinder's face.  
"Don't worry, you're not alone," Cinder replied., groaning inwardly as she scanned her own schedule.  
Cinder reluctantly turned and walked back into Mr. Park's room  
He greeted them with his usual terrible smile. "Back so soon?"  
"Unfortunately, yes," Iko said.  
"Have a seat, then."  
Iko led Cinder to a seat in the far back and they waited for the other students to file in. Cinder realized she'd been so distracted that she'd forgotten to check what class this was. She pulled her schedule out of her canvas bag.  
English and Literature,  
This was going to be so much fun.  
As Mr. Park wrote on the board, Cinder tried not to look behind her.  
Because Kai was sitting behind her. She hadn't talked to him since the party, and she'd actually left the party without telling him, which Iko had berated her for.  
As Mr. Park stepped back, Cinder looked up. There was a very long list of assignments in the textbooks they'd bought for class.  
"Well?" he said, "What are you all looking at? Get to work!"  
Everyone jumped a little, then scrambled to get their books in order. Cinder heaved her textbook from her canvas bag, and put it on her desk with a loud thump. She turned to the first assignment and started her work.

* * *

Kai was bored and distracted. This textbook work made literally no sense, but when he'd asked Mr. Park for help, all he'd said was "Check the textbook.'  
What kind of class was this? What kind of teacher was this? As he tried to read, the words all blurred and dissolved in his brain. He'd read an entire page, only to stop and realize he had no clue what he was reading.  
Mr. Park kept giving him the stink-eye, and Kai felt like he knew that he wasn't really focused. He took out a pencil and scribbled furiously in his notebook, trying to look like he was working. In reality, his mind was far away, thinking of the party last night. It was his own fault. He never should have tried, and now Cinder hated him. She hadn't acknowledged him all day.  
Noticing Mr. Park was looking at him, Kai resumed his scribbling, pretending to be engrossed in whatever this work was.  
"Kaito... your handwriting is disastrous."  
Kai nearly fell out of his chair. Mr. Park was right behind him. How had he not noticed?  
"Um, well...Maybe I would do the work if you actually bothered to teach!" Kai snapped.  
Everyone looked at him. "See me after class," Mr. Park sneered.  
Kai swallowed hard, turning to his textbook.  
"The art that is literature requires both eloquent speaking and writing. By enhancing your verbalization skills, you can also augment your writing skills..." Kai shook his head to focus, but he just couldn't. This was entirely pointless.  
He knew from his father, a well-known politician, how to write a decent speech, and also how to address people. He surely didn't need Mr. Park's stupid busywork.  
But what would his father think if he saw Kai now, not doing any work?  
Sighing, Kai managed to focus on the task at hand.

* * *

Iko noticed Kai noticing Cinder. Wistfully, she wondered if any boys would ever notice her.  
Until then though, she would continue to be the expert for everyone.  
Kai and Cinder were quite obvious, but she sensed something between Scarlet and Wolf, possibly in the future.  
Winter and Jacin had been friends for awhile, she'd learned, and she didn't know what to make of that. Jacin certainly felt protective of Winter, but Iko didn't know if it was a strong friendship that made him do so, or something more.  
Carswell was probably the most difficult, since he flirted with everyone. Perhaps he would stay that way, not having any serious relationships-  
"Iko, what is your work?"  
She looked up from her paper, which was covered in glitter-pen doodles, and the occasional answer to one of the required questions. She was working, she was just... multitasking.  
"I am answering question three on page 753. The question is: what are the benefits of concrete examples during speech writing. The answer is-"she rambled off.  
"That will be all, Iko." Mr. Park cut her off.  
"Thank you." Iko resumed her doodling, smiling to herself. She wouldn't let Mr. Park get to her, ruin her time here.  
She didn't need him, or his boring class. She would do just fine in school.  
Iko worked on the assignments and her drawings until the bell rang.  
Mr. Park raised an eyebrow at her paper crowded with rainbow glitter pen designs, but said nothing upon seeing that she had done all the questions. Iko managed to conceal her smug grin, but with Cinder in the hallway afterwards she burst out laughing.  
"What? You actually enjoyed that?" Cinder asked incredulously.  
"I enjoyed showing him up like that," Iko replied, pulling out her phone and texting rapidly.  
"That was pretty awesome. Too bad it didn't turn out like that for Kai."  
Iko raised her eyebrows at her friend. "Hm?" she said innocently.  
Cinder swatted her with a notebook. "You're crazy. Let's get to Robotics."


	4. Detention

Winter was so busy looking for Cress she nearly forgot about her detention. She found her in the computer lab, typing at lightning speed.  
"Cress! I was worried, are you alright?" She asked, running over.  
"I'm fine," Cress said, keeping her eyes on the screen.  
"You could've at least joined us for lunch. Everyone was asking about you!" Winter gushed .  
Cress turned around, her long blonde braid falling over her shoulder. "Really?"  
Winter smiled sheepishly. "Well, me and Iko were..."  
"Sorry. It's just that the computers here are amazing, and they have this cool coding game and-"  
Winter frowned, having no idea what Cress was talking about. Then she remembered, and clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh!"  
"I know, right?" said Cress, "it's amazing-"  
"No, although computers are very interesting... I forgot about detention!"  
Winter ran away without another word.

* * *

Scarlet sat in detention, scowling at and waiting for him to say something. Winter still wasn't here, and it was five, no six, minutes after detention should have started.  
Suddenly Winter burst into the room, panting and out of breath, yet still looking perfect. She gave Mr. Park a sweet smile.  
"Sorry, sir, I was-"  
Scarlet coughed.  
Winter tilted her head at her. "Scarlet-friend, are you alright?"  
"What did you call me?" Asked Scarlet.  
"Scarlet-friend," Winter repeated, sliding into a chair with no further explanation.  
Scarlet shrugged. At least it wasn't Ginger.  
"Miss Hayle-Blackburn," Mr Park said suddenly, "you are late."  
Winter ducked her head, peering up at him through her long lashes. "I'm sorry, sir," she said again.  
Scarlet rolled her eyes. But she had to admire Winter's skill. It took a lot to suck up to someone like  
Scarlet watched now as he grinned at Winter. "Very well then. Have a seat."  
The minutes ticked on. There was nothing to do but stare at the walls, until finally, Mr. Park gave them lines. She was actually glad for something to do, as she scribbled _I will not punch other students_ , over and over. She sighed for what seemed like the millionth time, and Winter smiled at her.  
Grudgingly, she smiled back.

* * *

"Stars, Iko will you calm down? It's just detention!" Cinder said as Iko pressed her ear against the door to 's room.  
But all Iko did was shush her and wrinkle her brow in concentration. "I can't hear anything!"  
Cinder rolled her eyes at her best friend for what seemed like the millionth time. "Detention is silent."  
Iko gasped, and Cinder gave yet another exasperated sigh. "Silent? Stars that's terrible!"  
"Iko, why do you care so much?" _Why do you care at all,_ is what she truly meant.  
"Did you see how nice Winter was to us yesterday? And also, she didn't even deserve this detention. And Scarlet...She punched that Ze'ev kid. Have you seen him? She's a good person to have on your side." Iko said as if it was obvious.  
Cinder gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Whatever."  
Iko shushed her again, but there was a smile on her face. Cinder honestly didn't understand Iko's obsession with knowing everybody, of having ten million social media accounts and her YouTube channel. Cinder remembered how she'd been reluctantly dragged into a Back to School video. She always seemed to get caught up in Iko's schemes, no matter how hard she tried to stay out of it.  
Now, she watched as Iko pressed herself against the wall as to not be seen, and winked at Cinder.  
Cinder was about to join her, when she heard footsteps from behind her.

* * *

Jacin was worried and frustrated. Winter didn't deserve detention, and she was probably being eaten alive by Mr. Park and Scarlet.  
No, scratch that. Knowing Winter, she probably Mr. Park wrapped around her finger. But still, he was worried.  
He walked to Mr. Park's classroom to check on her, and was surprised to see two other girls there.  
One was tall and pretty, with coffee-colored skin and blue braided hair. The other was shorter and sharper, with messy hair and dirt and grease stains all over her. The blue-haired girl was pressing her ear against the door, scrunching up her face in concentration.  
The other girl whirled around when she heard him coming. Jacin vaguely recalled that she'd come to the party last night. "What are you doing?" Jacin asked.  
The blue haired girl grinned reassuringly. "Making sure they're okay in there."  
Jacin frowned. "Why do you care?"  
The other girl sighed. "I've been asking her the same thing."  
"Because they're our friends," the blue haired girl shot back defensively.  
"Right... Winter hasn't mentioned you." Jacin replied.  
"We introduced ourselves yesterday! Before you dragged her away, at least. I'm Iko, and this is Cinder."  
Cinder shrugged. "She's always like this."  
Jacin shook his head, not really sure what else to do.  
He didn't say anything as Iko pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses and put them on, pressing herself against the wall like she was a spy or something.  
Suddenly, Jacin heard the squeak of sneakers on the tile floor. He turned and saw Carswell stroll past, grinning at Iko as he walked. Iko lowered her sunglasses to wink at him, then resumed her serious spy act.

* * *

One day. Carswell couldn't even last one day without getting his phone confiscated. Ironically, it'd been in Technology class. He needed it back as soon as possible, so after triple checking the schedule to make sure no after-school activities took place in the computer lab, he snuck over to steal his phone back.  
When he arrived at the lab, he peeked through the window. There seemed to be no one there. But upon opening the door, he heard the familiar clicking sounds of a keyboard.  
Carswell saw his phone on the teacher's desk, and quietly padded over to it.  
"Um, hello?" came a voice from the back corner.  
Carswell spun around to see a pretty girl with long blonde hair stepping over to him. Her face was itchingly familiar.  
Then he remembered last night. A pale blue notebook.  
"Hey," he said, to Crescent Moon Darnel.

* * *

Cress's cheeks were burning crimson. What on earth was Carswell, of all people, doing here?  
"Whatcha doing?" He asked casually.  
"Um, well I was playing Robot Resistance..." She replied, her voice soft.  
Carswell walked over to her computer, and his jaw dropped. "Stars, you're good at this game!"  
Cress turned around to see her score. Average for her, she'd gotten higher before. "I play it a lot," she blurted out.  
Carswell laughed. "I can tell, Crescent."  
Stars, he knew her name. He'd read the notebook.  
"Cress," she mumbled.  
"What?"  
"Call me Cress. It's what my friends call me ."  
"Oh, so we're friends now?"  
"Yeah, I guess..." She tried for a smile.  
He grinned, the same smile he gave every girl, and Cress felt her heart sink.  
All he saw her as was another girl  
"You good?" He asked.  
"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine...just- never mind."  
Carswell cocked his head. "Well I'll just take this and go... see you around, Cress." He grabbed a phone off the teacher's desk and walked away.  
"Yeah. See you around." Cress echoed to an empty room.

* * *

When the hour was finally up, Winter was thrilled to get out of detention. She opened the door- and nearly ran into Jacin.  
"Hello," she said, peering behind him to see Cinder and Iko. "Thank you for the welcome party."  
Iko beamed. "You're welcome."  
"Are we waiting for Scarlet?" Cinder asked.  
Scarlet appeared next to Winter. "Waiting for me?"  
Winter smiled at them all. "Yes, Scarlet-friend."  
Iko lowered her voice. "How was it? Was it terrible?"  
"Terribly boring," Scarlet replied with a sigh.  
"Honestly, I don't see the point of it. We sat there for half the time, then we wrote lines. I don't feel that I gained anything." Winter said earnestly, stepping into place beside Jacin.  
Iko's eyes were wide. Winter frowned, peering closer. "Your eyes have changed color."  
"What?" Iko replied.  
Winter looked again. Sure enough, they'd changed from a mysterious gray to a grayish-gold. "Your eyes," she repeated. "They change color."  
Iko frowned, shrugging. "Um, thanks... It's probably just the lighting."  
Winter looked around then, observing everyone's eyes. Scarlet's were emerald green, Cinder's were dark brown, and Jacin's- she already knew Jacin's- were a striking blue. And narrowed- he was glaring at her. "We have to go. We have homework."  
"We can all do it together!" Iko suggested, and Winter smiled at her enthusiasm, nodding in agreement.  
Jain warily looked around at the girls. "I don't think Winter-"  
"No, Jacin, I don't mind. In fact-" she smiled, and imagined her own eyes changing colors, to a bright, happy hue. "We can do it in my room, with Cress."  
Jain looked a bit hurt, and Winter felt a twinge of guilt. "I'm sorry," she said to him quietly, "If you want, you and Carswell can come too."  
"I can ask if Kai wants to come," Cinder added softly, and Iko winked and nudged her.  
"Then we might as well invite Wolf- Ze'ev- too, since he's Kai's roommate." Scarlet said with a sense of finality.  
"My room is too small then, we'll get everyone and meet in the library," Winter decided.  
Everyone voiced their agreement, then they split up to go find everyone, deciding to gather in the library in ten minutes.  
Once again, Winter set off to find Cress.


	5. The Study Group

Cinder sat in the library, wondering how she's gotten herself dragged into this. They were an interesting group, what with Ze'ev and Scarlet bickering about something, Carswell flirting with all the girls, Cress typing madly on her phone, and Iko and Winter beaming at it all.  
"Alright," Iko finally said, "let's just go around and say names, I doubt that everyone knows everyone. Hopefully we all will, though!" she chirped.  
"I'll start," Kai said approvingly from his spot beside Cinder. "I'm Kaito, but you guys can call me Kai."  
"I'm uh, Selene, but no one ever calls me that. Just call me Cinder." Cinder found herself saying. There were quite a few confused looks about her strange nickname, but no one said anything,  
Iko was next, and she was bubbling with excitement as she introduced herself. "I'm Iko!"  
Winter was next, then Scarlet, who was looking bored.  
Ze'ev introduced himself in a low, growling voice. "I'm Ze'ev, but you guys can call me Wolf."  
The nickname was rather fitting for him, as the gleam in his eyes and his stature could be considered very wolflike.  
Then was Carswell, who said, "but of course, _everyone_ knows me," earning an eye roll from Cinder.  
Jacin probably looked the most uncomfortable, and he sat directly to the right of Winter, trying not to be noticed. Finally, Cress was the only person to go, and she was absorbed in her phone.  
Scarlet cleared her throat pointedly, and her head jerked up. "I'm Crescent; call me Cress," she said quickly.  
Iko took over the conversation once more, and Cinder was surprised at how organized she was. She split everyone into smaller groups based on subject and level, and actually got everyone working productively.  
Of course, nothing could be _completely_ perfect.

* * *

Iko finished the last touches on her homework, then surveyed the study group with pride. Winter and Jacin were bent over a book, whispering to each other and taking notes. Kai was patiently trying to explain something to Wolf, but his brow was furrowed and he looked very confused. Scarlet had put in earbuds; her bag sat untouched beside her. Cinder was right beside Iko, double-checking both of their work. Cress was finished as well, and she was once again on her phone. Carswell was slicking his hair back with gel.  
"Everything looks good," Cinder said, putting her things into her bag and fastening it shut.  
Iko nodded, and then dropped her bag as a shout rang out.  
"Carswell, stop bothering her!" Wolf barked.  
Scarlet ripped out her earbuds, and narrowed her eyes at Wolf. "Why do you even care?"  
"I don't!" Wolf shot back, slumping back into his chair.  
Scarlet raised an eyebrow at Carswell. "Well?"  
Carswell shrugged. "Please, it's not like you were actually working."  
Scarlet's face was as red as her hair. Iko tensed.  
"Guys," she said softly, "let's just-"  
"Iko's right. Let's not make a big deal." Another voice cut in, clear and sharp.  
Iko whirled around, and to her surprise, she saw Cress standing up, phone discarded on the table beside her.  
"She's the one making a big deal," Carswell replied defensively, pointing at Scarlet.  
"You don't-" Cress faltered. "You don't have to-" her voice broke.  
"Okay guys... let's just forget it." Iko said quickly. Cress looked relieved.  
Scarlet looked warily at Carswell. He had the good sense to look ashamed as he mumbled an apology.  
"I'm going to my room," Scarlet said, slinging her bag over her shoulder.  
"Scarlet-friend-" Winter tried.  
"That's _not_ my name," Scarlet replied.  
Iko stepped in front of her, still trying to salvage this study group. "Scarlet... come on." she said softly. "No harm done, right?"  
Scarlet sighed. "I guess not..."  
She carefully took a seat on the other side of Wolf, so she was no longer next to Carswell.  
Then she took out her earbuds, and a notebook, and started her work.

* * *

Scarlet felt guilty. As she went through the mindless tasks, she could not ignore Wolf, sitting dejectedly beside her. Finally, when he heaved a great sigh, Scarlet took out one earbud.  
"Thanks," she said to him.  
"What?"  
"For sticking up for me earlier... sorry I snapped."  
There was a hint of a smile on his face, and Scarlet caught it. "I don't mind," he said.  
Scarlet peered over his shoulder at his homework. His sloppy chicken scratch was nearly impossible to read.  
She scrutinized her own work; most of the answers were wrong. Whatever.  
She hastily corrected them, then Wolf spoke again.  
"What electives are you taking?"  
"Huh? Oh, um Aerospace Engineering," she replied. _Which you're probably going to fail, unless you get yourself together._  
"Wow," said Wolf.  
"Yeah, I want to be a pilot, or just stay on my Grandma's farm, or both. I haven't really decided yet." That was probably the most idiotic statement ever, but Wolf said nothing. "How about you?"  
Wolf scrunched up his face with distaste. "My mom put me in Cooking. Actually, though, it's not too bad..."  
Scarlet stifled a laugh, as so not to be rude. He already looked embarrassed enough. "I like cooking. Maybe I'll take it next year."  
"That would be good... I mean it would be nice, to um, have you in that- the class." Wolf shook his head. "Never mind."  
Scarlet smiled. "It think it would be nice to be in that class with you, too."

* * *

Kai didn't know who to ask for help.  
In this big, mostly friendly group, he couldn't think of one person to ask for help. Of course his mind first went to Cinder, then he remembered the party, and yesterday. She was definitely avoiding him... but then she'd been the one to invite him to this study group- Stars, why were girls so confusing?  
In the end, he decided that Iko was his best bet. Cinder, Iko, Cress, and himself were the only ones in advanced math anyway, and Cress seemed very shy, and unwilling to talk. Iko, on the other hand, was the unannounced leader of the group, and she was very social.  
"Um, Iko," Kai said now, walking over, "What did you get for number 27?"  
Iko delved into her bag and pulled out her homework. Chewing thoughtfully on the end of her glitter pen, she flipped to number 27 and analyzed it for a moment.  
"Here," she said finally, pointing her work out to Kai.  
The loopy, swirly, multicolored handwriting was a little unnerving, but Kai was surprised to see that he understood her work quite clearly. "Thanks."  
Iko smiled. "No problem."  
Kai couldn't help but notice Cinder beside her; she looked a little hurt, a lock of hair hanging over her eyes. He smiled at her, but she avoided his gaze.  
Iko raised an eyebrow. "You good now? Or do you need more help?"  
 _With math? No. But with Cinder? Yes._ Kai thought, gathering his papers. "No, thanks." He told Iko, making his way back to his seat.

Cinder didn't care about boys. At least, that was what she kept telling herself, after Kai came over and completely ignored her, preferring to ask Iko for help. She'd been wrong about him, then. Kai could literally have any girl in the school. Any girl. And so she shouldn't have been surprised.  
The party had been a one-time thing. She nearly laughed at her own stupidity. She'd ditched him at the party. No wonder he was a little miffed.  
She looked over at Iko, who was once again typing away on her phone, occasionally holding it up to snap a picture. She remembered how quickly Iko had analyzed everyone at this school- how she'd been able to see right through them. Cinder wished she had that skill.  
But if Kai was mad about the party, why had he agreed to come to the study group?  
Whatever, she had more important things to worry about. Like school, her electives, should she choose a sport? Sign-ups were next week, and tryouts soon after. She wasn't very athletic, but sports would look good on her record. _See?_ she told herself, _There is so much else to think about._  
She didn't care about boys.

* * *

Carswell had done exactly no homework in the time he'd been here. He didn't feel the slightest bit guilty, or ashamed. He'd apologized to Scarlet, and vowed never to try that again.  
Scarlet had been in detention for punching Wolf, and Carswell didn't want to know what she'd do to him.  
Cress had been playing Android Assault on her phone; she finished her homework very quickly. Carswell didn't know how she'd gotten such a high score on either of the games. She was a genius. And a pretty one at that.  
Carswell shook his head, clearing his mind. Why did he care so much about Cress? Why had his stomach dropped when he'd read _her_ name in the notebook?  
He stole a glance at her. She was once again ducked over her phone; this time her long braid was obscuring his view of the screen.  
Carswell remembered how her face had crumpled in the computer lab, when he'd said they were friends. Had he done something wrong?  
Why was he so confused? He was an expert on girls.  
Every girl except Cress, apparently.

* * *

Finally, when everyone was just sitting around staring at each other, Iko cleared her throat. "Well, this was fun."  
Cinder snorted beside her. Luckily, Winter came to her aid.  
"I rather enjoyed it as well. We should do it again tomorrow."  
No one looked opposed, but Iko doubted anyone would want to oppose Winter.  
"Okay, tomorrow, same time, same place." Iko declared, slinging her bag over her shoulder.  
As she walked with Cinder back to their dorm room, she wondered who would come back. She hoped they all would.


	6. Levana and Sybil

Cinder was lying on her stomach on her bed, laptop open to a video chat with her younger sister, Peony.  
"Cinder! How's school? I miss you so much already!"  
Cinder laughed. "It's pretty great-"  
"No, it's totally awesome!" Iko shrieked from behind her.  
Peony waved. "Hi Iko! So anyway, Cinder, tell me all about it. The teachers, friends- I want the whole scoop."  
Cinder told her sister about Mr. Park, Robotics, and of course the study group.  
"Have you been to any parties?" Peony asked, leaning into the camera.  
"Yes... this one boy in my study group invited me..."  
Peony squealed. "Was it a _date_?"  
"No," Cinder muttered, at the same time Iko shouted, "Yes!"  
"Really? What happened?"  
Iko made a sour face. "I couldn't go."  
"Not much. We split up in the first few minutes." Cinder replied, waving her hand dismissively.  
Peony sighed. "Of course you did. But who was it?"  
"Here," Iko shoved Cinder out of the way, thrusting a picture of Kai on her phone into the camera.  
Peony squealed again. "Oh, Cinder he's just so- wait, Iko, how did you get that picture?"  
"I follow PrinceKai47," Iko replied with a shrug.  
Cinder shook her head. "He hates me now anyway."  
"No! What happened?" Peony's face blurred as she leaned in even closer.  
"I guess it was because I ditched him at the party... he completely ignored me in the study group."  
"Puh-lease," Iko said, "he couldn't stop looking at you."  
"Then how come he asked you for help on his homework, not me?" Cinder asked.  
Iko rolled her eyes like it was obvious. " _You_ were ignoring _him_."  
Peony let out a little gasp. "Cinder! First you ditch him at the party, then you ignore him? No wonder he didn't ask you for help."  
Cinder pressed her finger against her temple in frustration. "Can we please talk about something else?"  
"Okay," replied Peony.  
Suddenly, there was another voice talking from behind her. "Peony! Get off that stupid computer and do your chores! I asked you three times to clean your room-"  
Peony gave Cinder a little wave. "Coming Mom!" she called.  
Then the screen went black.

* * *

There was a lot of noise outside Winter's room. Not from Scarlet and Emilie's room on the right, but from the empty room on the left.  
At least, it had been empty these first few days.  
Winter opened the door just a crack and looked towards the empty room. There were two girls, dragging their bags inside.  
"Ooh, Cress! New neighbors! We should go and say hello," she said.  
Cress looked up from her laptop. "Huh? Okay, you can go meet them... I'm busy."  
Sighing, Winter grabbed her hand. "Come on, the computer's not going anywhere."  
"Neither are they," Cress replied, prying her hand from Winter's hold.  
"Fine," Winter huffed, "I'll greet them myself."  
She spun away from Cress and walked to the room next door.  
The girls had already brought everything in, so Winter rapped twice on the closed door.  
A girl opened it, and Winter had to stifle a gasp.  
The girl was beautiful, but grotesquely so. Every inch of her face was caked with makeup, and she was wearing fancy, expensive-looking clothes. Her eyes were iridescent, but Winter could tell she was wearing colored contacts.  
"Hello," she managed, "I'm Winter."  
The girl curled her ruby-red, overly plump lip with distaste.  
"My room is next door. I wanted to greet you guys," Winter continued.  
The girl was examining her fake nail.  
"Well, see you in class tomorrow, hopefully!" Winter said cheerfully, hoping to break the ice.  
The girl sighed. "I'm Levana." Then she moved her foot, allowing the door to swing shut.  
Winter heard the lock click back into place.

* * *

"New neighbors!" Iko said excitedly, stepping out into the hallway. She didn't wait for Cinder; she knew she wouldn't want to come. "Be back soon!" she called to Cinder as the door closed behind her.  
Iko stepped over to the next door and knocked.  
A very pretty, annoyed-looking girl yanked it open. "Stars, Winter! I don't care!"  
Iko just smiled, making a mental note that Winter had been there.  
Then she wondered how anyone could hate Winter, and her smiled faded as she scrutinized this new girl.  
She was perfect, perfectly _fake._  
Nevertheless, Iko decided to give her a chance.  
"I'm Iko! Nice to meet you! And you are?"  
The girl frowned, then called into her room. "Sybil! Would you please come here a minute?"  
Another girl came forward; Iko assumed she was Sybil. She too was beautiful, but not as fake as the first girl.  
"What, Levana?"  
Levana sighed. "Where did you put my red shoes?"  
Sybil shrugged.  
"Sybil! I told you to leave them by the door! Stars, can you do anything right?"  
Iko wondered if they even cared she was there. If she was Sybil, she would have given Levana a piece of her mind, but Sybil just ducked her head with shame before retreating into the room.  
"So anyway, welcome to Luna Academy," Iko said.  
Levana raised a heavily penciled eyebrow disdainfully.  
Iko held her head high and walked away.

* * *

"Well?" asked Cinder, "How are they?"  
"Terrible," Iko replied with a sigh, "their names are Levana and Sybil."  
Cinder slammed her laptop shut, suddenly livid. "Levana with fake-"  
"Fake everything? Yes, that Levana. How did you know?"  
Memories clouded Cinder's brain, blurring her vision as the anger and hate took over. "Levana went to my old school. She's horrible . Absolutely horrible."  
Iko perched herself on the headboard of the bed. "Well, she's our neighbor now, whether you like it or not."  
Cinder sighed. "Of course she would turn up late... better to get everyone to notice her."  
She remembered how Levana had tortured and bullied everyone, all those years ago. As she listened to Iko recount her trip to their room, she felt a cold feeling slip into her chest.  
Obviously, nothing had changed.  
"I can't believe she's here. With- what was her name?"  
"Sybil," Iko supplied.  
"Yeah. With Sybil. How is she?"  
"Almost as bad. Not as fake, but just as mean."  
Cinder groaned, burying her face in the pillow.  
Iko patted her sympathetically. "At least you're not alone. This school is huge. Hopefully we'll barely see them."

* * *

"Ah, it seems we have two new students today."  
Kai looked up, his interest piqued. Two girls stood with Mr. Park at the front of the room, smiling coldly at them all. The first girl- Mr. Park introduced her as Levana- gazed at Kai for a bit too long. He squirmed a little as her smile widened, displaying blinding, too-white teeth.  
"They are also in English and Literature next period," Mr. Park continued.  
Kai cursed under his breath. Of course this creepy girl was in English and Literature with him. Beside him, Cinder and Iko were locked in some silent battle, arguing only with their eyes. Kai decided it was better to focus on that than on Levana choosing a seat near him.  
"Hello," she purred, crossing one leg over the other.  
Kai gritted his teeth and said nothing.  
Levana narrowed her overly bright and colorful eyes.  
Kai whistled a random tune under his breath, before realizing it was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and stopping immediately.  
When the bell rang, most of the class stayed put, as many of them were also in English and Literature. A few students filed out of the classroom, and Mr. Park wrote yet another list of mindless tasks on the board, and yelled at them to get started.  
Levana and her friend- had her name been Sybil?- smiled and immediately got to work, gazing adoringly at .  
Kai heard Iko snort. These girls were sucking up to more than even Winter, and he was enjoying it.  
In fact, he actually took a moment to strut over to Sybil and compliment her work in front of the class. Sybil tossed her long dark hair, trying to give the illusion that she didn't care, but it was obvious how she loved being the teacher's pet.  
Kai rolled his eyes as Levana sat up with perfect posture, her handwriting impeccable. She kept gazing at Kai through her long, fake lashes, and he was beginning to feel sick to his stomach. He didn't dare look at Cinder.

* * *

Sybil had chosen to sit by Cress. She didn't know why, but it was infuriating. Every time Mr. Park complimented Sybil, he looked at Cress with distaste, like _why can't you be more like this?_  
Cress scowled at Sybil when she wasn't looking, when she was working on her oh-so-amazing textbook work. She was a thousand times better than Sybil. She doubted _Sybil_ could hack into any computer system with ease. She doubted _Sybil_ could beat her high score on any video game.  
The one time Sybil did catch her scowl, she barely looked fazed. She curled her lip slightly, raised a _perfect_ eyebrow, then continued her work, like Cress wasn't worth her attention.  
Like Cress was lower than her somehow.  
She certainly felt lower than Sybil, with her long messy blonde hair against Sybil's smooth, dark locks. With her meek, folded-in posture against Sybil, who always sat stick-straight.  
With the way Mr. Park fawned over Sybil, even when Cress's own work was probably just as good, if not better.  
Levana wasn't much better; the way she kept _staring_ at Kai made Cress want to gag.  
Like school wasn't hard enough without these two girls.  
She hated them already.


	7. Sports

The signup sheets appeared about a week later. Levana and Sybil were the first to sign up for Cheerleading.  
From her spot beside Cinder, staring at the bulletin board crowded with signup sheets, Iko pouted. "I wanted to do Cheerleading."  
Wolf shouldered his way to the front and scribbled his name for Football.  
Cinder stared at the list, frowning. "I don't know what to choose."  
"Ooh, what about gymnastics?" Iko asked.  
"No. I am terrible at gymnastics. I can barely do a cartwheel." Cinder replied.  
"Swimming?"  
"No."  
"Cross Country?"  
"No."  
"Basketball?"  
"No."  
"You're no fun."  
Cinder moved the Basketball sheet out of the way, to see what was underneath.  
"Volleyball! Yes!" said a familiar voice from behind her. She turned to see Scarlet jot down her name on the Volleyball sheet.  
Before she could talk herself out of it, Cinder wrote her name as well.  
Iko crinkled her nose. "I'm not a fan of Volleyball. Maybe I'll do tennis."  
She grabbed a glitter pen and signed her name, drawing a heart after the last letter.  
Cinder rolled her eyes."Iko, you're signing up for sports, not giving an autograph."  
Iko ignored her and added a squiggly underline.  
Cinder moved out of the way so more people could sign up. The Volleyball sheet was filling fast, and she tried to ignore the dread that was building inside her.

* * *

Winter saw both Scarlet and Cinder sign up for volleyball. She was still unsure as to whether or not she should try a sport. Horseback riding caught her eye, but Jacin scoffed.  
"I don't see you doing a sport," Winter said pointedly.  
"Fine. Here." Jacin grabbed a pen and signed up for Football. His name was right under Carswell's.  
Winter raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Football?"  
"Well..." Jacin moved to cross out his name, but Winter grabbed his arm.  
"No. You should do football. You'd be good at it." She said encouragingly.  
"Fine. Then you have to do-" Winter watched as his eyes scanned the list.  
"Tae Kwon Do." He decided.  
Winter gaped at him. "Jacin!"  
"If I'm doing football, that's what you're doing."  
Winter didn't argue anymore. It was only fair, she thought as she reluctantly signed under Tae Kwon Do.  
It felt like a death sentence.

* * *

Kai waited until the crowd at the Sports signups had dispersed before approaching. He was surprised to see Jacin signed up for Football, along with Wolf and Carswell.  
So pretty much all his friends.  
He found Cinder and Scarlet under volleyball, and Iko under tennis.  
Winter was the most startling of all; she had signed up for Tae Kwon Do.  
Kai' s pen hovered above the Football sheet, and he contemplated.  
He would be terrible, without a doubt. And he would probably look like an idiot. Then again, so would Jacin. Hopefully.  
He pressed his pen into the paper.  
"Hey, Kai," said a gooey voice from behind him.  
Kai' s pen ripped a hole in the paper.  
"Signing up for Football?" The voice continued.  
Levana. He was sure of it.  
Kai did not turn around.  
"I'll be there you know. At the games and stuff. I'm a cheerleader."  
Of course she was. Shuddering, he quickly signed his name and turned away.  
"Don't ignore me, Kai." A hand grabbed his shoulder, both gentle and forceful.  
"Bye Levana." Kai shook off her grip and sped up, not stopping until he got to his room.  
"Don't be a stranger, Kai!"

* * *

Iko stepped into a brand-new tennis dress, looking herself over in the mirror. It was a clean white, the tiny logo the same color as the laces on her pristine sneakers. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and cocked her head at her reflection.  
Perfect.  
She slung her new bag over her shoulder; in it was her racket, sweat bands and a water bottle.  
"Don't you think that's a bit overkill?" asked Cinder. She herself was wearing baggy gym shorts and an old T-shirt.  
"Nonsense. Tennis is a very dignified sport." Iko replied.  
"Iko, you've never even _played_ before."  
"Um, yeah, I have! Back home."  
"Badminton in your backyard doesn't count."  
"I know _that._ I've played with my cousin a few times." Iko said confidently. Even though she didn't feel very confident in her playing abilities.  
She was decent at best.  
But she wouldn't let that spoil her fun. After bidding farewell to Cinder, she strolled to the tennis courts, shoulders thrown back, head held high.  
She wouldn't let anyone know how terribly _decent_ she was.

* * *

Scarlet pulled her hair into a messy bun, bouncing on her toes with excitement. She absolutely loved volleyball, and had been on a team back home. She noticed Cinder standing in a corner and waved her over.  
"I didn't know you played! This is great!"  
"I don't play." Cinder said through gritted teeth.  
Scarlet smiled. "Hopefully we won't kill you," she said jokingly to Cinder as the coach motioned for them all to walk over.  
Cinder laughed weakly, and Scarlet turned to her. "Seriously. You'll be fine."  
"If you say so."  
They both jogged over to the coach.

* * *

Winter walked out of the locker room, dressed in loose white pants and a white robe-like top. There was also a white belt cinched across her waste. There were lots of mats, and in the middle of the room, a man stood in an outfit identical to hers, except his belt was black. He brought the side of his hand down on a stack of wooden boards, and they all snapped.  
Winter jumped back a little, startled.  
The man walked over to her. She managed a small smile.  
"Name?" The man said.  
"Winter Hayle-Blackburn."  
"Okay." The man grabbed a clipboard and marked something down, then walked over to another student who'd just arrived, chopping more boards on the way. Winter took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.  
 _You're going to be okay. If Jacin can do football, you can do this._  
But she didn't believe that.

* * *

Carswell strutted onto the football field, blowing kisses at the cheerleaders as he passed them.  
He saw Wolf and Kai already there, tossing a football. Kai kept missing it.  
He walked right between them and caught one of Kai' s weak throws in midair.  
Then he heard footsteps behind him, and saw a hunched form walking over to them. The boy's face was ducked, but Carswell immediately recognized his roommate.  
"Jacin! Over here!" He waved.  
Jacin slowly made his way over, kicking at a rock in the turf. Carswell clapped him on the back, making him nearly fall over.  
"Ready, roomie?" Carswell said.  
"Do _not_ call me roomie." Jacin muttered, stepping away from Carswell.  
Carswell gave him a winning smile. "C'mon, this will be fun! Us guys, playing football, attracting all the cheerleaders..."  
"Ugh," said Kai, glancing at Levana with disgust, "What if I want to repel the cheerleaders?"  
Levana was dressed in the cheerleading uniform- a miniskirt and tank top, and was adjusting the bow in her hair.  
"Then why would you sign up for football?" asked Carswell.  
"Um, to actually _play_ football?" Wolf rumbled from behind him.  
Carswell doubled over, laughing. Wolf narrowed his green eyes.  
"Oh, wait. You're serious." Carswell said, still grinning.  
"I played back home." Wolf said, casually tossing the football.  
He did look like a football player, what with the sturdy, muscular way he was built. Carswell felt very lucky that Wolf was on his team, and would probably not tackle him to death.  
Probably.

* * *

Cress sat in the computer lab, wishing she wasn't alone. She had decided against doing a sport for now, perhaps she would sign up in the winter. None of the sports appealed to her anyway; especially now as she saw how ridiculous the cheerleaders looked, focusing more on the football players than actually cheerleading.  
She had a clear view of the football field from where she sat, working on an extra credit assignment for Advanced Computer Programming.  
All of her friends had signed up for sports, except Emilie, but she wasn't really part of their group.  
Sure, she was Scarlet's roommate, but she often chose to hang out with different people. Cress thought it would be awkward if she tried to talk to Emilie.  
She felt awkward around her group right now as it was.  
She opened a new tab to the school athletics page and scrolled through the sports list once more. Still, nothing appealed to her, and she didn't want to join a sport just because her friends did. She would probably be terrible and embarrass herself, losing the friends she already had.  
 _Joining a sport would be a disaster. Don't do it._  
It was too late, anyway.  
But then of course, she saw it. A little blurb in the corner of the screen, that said: _It's not too late to join a sport! Click_ _here_ _to sign up online!_  
Cress let the little arrow hover above the word 'here', once again scrolling through the list.  
Finally, finally, she clicked.  
Another page opened, displaying the sports list. Every sport looked even more intimidating than the last.  
She clicked the back arrow, resuming her extra credit project.  
No sports.  
For now.


	8. The Football Game

"I don't play football, I don't watch football, I don't care about football, I don't _get_ football-"  
"You're going to the game, Cinder," Iko said, cutting her off.  
"Why? Give me one good reason."  
Iko smiled. She knew her friend very well, and had prepared for this.  
"Well, firstly, everyone is going. Like, all of our friends. And so, it really doesn't matter if you know what's going on. It's nice to go support your team. Also, most of our friends are on the team, and we know they prefer us cheering for them over the cheerleaders. And-" Iko took a deep breath, for dramatic affect, "And there's literally nothing else you can do. It's on a weekend, so there's no class. And since it's such a big event, everyone will be there and not here. That's why," she finished matter-of-factly.  
"Fine, I'll go-"  
"Oh! And don't you want us all to come to your volleyball game?"  
"Iko, I said I'll go!"  
"Okay. Good. I should join Debate Club, my persuasion skills are amazing, don't you think?" Iko smiled.  
"Is everyone really coming to my volleyball game?" Cinder asked in a small voice.  
"Yes! We want to cheer on you and Scarlet! Why are you so surprised?" Iko asked, genuinely curious.  
Her friend shrugged and looked at the ground. "I'm not. Of course they want to cheer for Scarlet."  
"And you."  
Cinder shrugged again. "So anyway, how's tennis?"  
"Lots of fun! I mean, I'm not that good... but I'm not that bad either." Iko replied. "Hey, wait a second... don't change the subject. What's your problem with volleyball?"  
Cinder moved to look past her; Iko stepped in front of her.  
"Oh look, it's Kai!" Cinder exclaimed. "Hey, Kai!"  
"What? Oh, uh, hi Cinder!"  
Grinning, Iko walked away. She could deal with Cinder's volleyball later. Right now, they probably needed some alone time.

* * *

Cinder waved Kai over. Immediately, he brought up football.  
"So, you coming to the big game on Saturday?"  
She smiled sheepishly. "Iko wouldn't let me say no."  
"Well, hopefully you won't be too disappointed."  
"According to Carswell, you aren't very good." Cinder blurted out. _Really? You just insulted him? Nice going._  
But Kai laughed nervously.  
"I'm sure you'll be fine," Cinder tried.  
"Yeah..." he said.  
This was the most awkward conversation ever, and Cinder knew it. But, even though she was in Advanced Robotics, even though she could fix almost any machine, she could not salvage this.  
"Anyway... I have to go to, um, volleyball practice. See you."  
"Excited for your game?" Kai asked.  
"Huh? Um...Well not really." Cinder admitted.  
"Why not?"  
Cinder took a deep breath. She'd avoided this with Iko, but she wanted to be honest with Kai. "I'm so nervous. I'm probably the worst player on the team. Everyone else is so experienced, they've all played before... I feel like I'm falling behind."  
"Hey, don't worry. That's how I feel, too. Carswell isn't lying, or trying to tease me. I'm really not that good."  
Cinder felt relief surge through her. "I guess sports aren't really our thing."  
"I guess not. So... you should probably get to practice, then."  
"I really need it." Cinder laughed. It felt good to laugh at herself now that she wasn't alone. "Good luck at the game, Kai."  
"Same to you."  
As Cinder walked away, she passed a scathingly furious Levana, whose eyes were gleaming with hate.  
She ignored her, but felt shivers down her spine. Levant's bullying was going to extend much farther than their old school.

* * *

Cress sat down on the hard metal bleachers, scanning the crowd for someone, anyone, she knew. Finally, she saw Winter walking up the bleacher steps, managing to make even jeans and a baggy Luna Academy Tae Kwon Do T-shirt look stunning.  
"Winter!" Cress waved, hoping she would see.  
Winter turned towards her, and her eyes brightened with recognition. She walked over and sat beside Cress.  
"This is so exciting, isn't it?" Winter exclaimed, looking at the football field, which was currently empty.  
"It hasn't even started yet."  
Suddenly, the crowd started roaring. Cress looked down, between all of the heads of the people in front of her, to see the football team run out onto the field.  
Winter was cheering with everyone else, and Cress felt awkward just clapping. So when Carswell jogged onto the field, waving and smiling, Cress screamed right along with them.

* * *

Jacin trailed behind the rest of the team, each step feeling like there were bricks weighing down his feet. As soon as he saw the crowd the feeling only got worse. The screaming was giving him a headache, and the cheerleaders were making him feel sick to his stomach.  
Everyone was in a huddle now, and he ran to join them.  
Wolf began talking about plays and strategies, but Jacin could barely hear him. When they all nodded and the huddle broke apart, Jacin followed Kai, who actually seemed to know what he was doing.  
The whistle blew, and the game started. Jacin hastily slid on his helmet, but he was too late.  
Someone yelled "CATCH!", the ball was flying towards him-  
It slammed against his stomach, and he caught it, his helmet flying off. He fell backward, and his head thumped against the turf. He was seeing spots.  
Jacin scrambled to his feet with the ball, then quickly threw it to Kai, a sloppy, terrible throw that Kai barely caught.  
"Jacin? Why did you give it to-" Someone from the other team tackled Kai and he didn't finish talking.  
Finally, the whistle was blown again, and they once more returned to a huddle.  
"Jacin," Kai said, panting. He looked winded and worn down. "Why did you throw that to me? We had a _plan._ "  
"Sorry." Jacin said, feeling a little guilty.  
"Roomie, we're a team. You gotta focus." Carswell clapped him on the back.  
"Do not call me- you know what? Never mind. I'll try to focus." Jacin replied. How had he let Winter persuade him to do this?  
"Okay." Wolf said, then began talking strategy once more.  
Jacin nodded, understanding the plan this time.  
Then, he took a deep breath as the whistle shrieked once more.

* * *

Winter's heart was beating hard and fast. She winced as Jacin fell, and silently scolded herself for making him do this.  
She wanted to run out onto the field and make sure he was okay, but of course she couldn't. She crossed her fingers underneath her sleeves and turned to Cress, who was looking bored.  
"Is he okay?" Cress asked.  
"I don't know... I'm going down now to make sure he's alright." Winter decided, standing up.  
"Winter. He's fine. Don't worry."  
Winter squinted to see the players better. "No, look. He's sitting out now!"  
She started running down the bleacher steps. If Jacin was seriously injured, it would be all her fault.  
Stars, if he had a concussion, if he missed school...  
"Jacin!" Winter gasped, breathless.  
"Huh? Winter!? What are you doing here?"  
"Are you okay? I saw you fall..."  
He put his head in his hands. "I'm fine," he muttered, sounding exasperated.  
"But then why are you sitting out?" Winter asked, still worried.  
"That's just how the rotation works. Seriously, I'm fine. Please don't make a big deal."  
Winter looked closer at him. Sure, he looked winded, but he didn't look injured. "Fine. Be careful."  
"This is your fault!" Jacin said.  
Winter pretended like she hadn't hurt him, but she already felt horribly guilty.

* * *

"Give me a D. Give me an E. Give me an A. Give me a D." Cinder deadpanned, mocking the cheerleaders. "What's that spell? Dead. Like me right now. "  
Scarlet grinned and waved her hands. "I like that cheer."  
"I wish that would happen to Levana," Iko said, looking down at her fake smile.  
"Do you see the way she looks at Kai?" Cinder asked. "It's disgusting."  
"Someone's _jealous,"_ Iko teased in a singsong voice.  
Scarlet looked at Cinder thoughtfully, but said nothing.  
Cinder glared at Iko. "I am not."  
"Mm hm, okay," Iko replied, patting her hand.  
"Do you actually like him?" Scarlet asked, leaning in.  
"No...maybe...a little...?" Cinder mumbled.  
Iko squealed. "I knew it!"  
The whistle blew suddenly, startling them all. The game was over, and Luna Academy had lost spectacularly.  
A very angry-looking Wolf was pacing the field.  
"Hopefully, we'll win volleyball," Scarlet said.  
"Hopefully..." Cinder replied, wishing she actually believed that.


	9. Volleyball

Scarlet stood in front of the grimy locker room mirror, pulling her hair into a ponytail. Almost immediately, the little curls that never stayed put fell out, and Scarlet grumbled in frustration, blowing them out of her eyes.  
 _Good enough,_ she decided, then looked for Cinder.  
"You ready?" she asked her friend.  
Cinder shrugged. "No..."  
Scarlet put her hands on Cinder's shoulders. "You're going to be fine. _Relax_."  
"I know, I just-"  
"First game jitters. Happens to everyone. But, the trick is to just forget it. Focus on the game, focus on having fun." Scarlet said reassuringly.  
Cinder managed a smile. Suddenly, the coach blew the whistle. "Let's go! Everyone ready?"  
Scarlet ran over to him, leaving Cinder to trail behind the group.  
"We got this," Scarlet said, as they stepped into the gym.

* * *

"Oh my stars! What?!" Cress exclaimed, yanking open the door to see Iko.  
She'd been banging incessantly on the door for the longest time, even after Cress had shouted _coming_ three times.  
Cress looked at her and did a double take. Iko had really gone all out. She was wearing Luna Academy's colors of red, white, and black, to the point where she'd actually woven colored ribbons into her blue braids. She had on black and white jeans, a red Luna Academy shirt, bright red lipstick, and the Luna Academy crest painted on her cheek.  
"You ready to cheer on Cinder and Scarlet?" she asked, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet.  
"Um, yeah..." Cress replied.  
"No, you're not," Iko said derisively. "Where's your school spirit?"  
"Uh, I don't really-" Cress looked down at herself. She was wearing a simple blue dress that came just past her knees, a version of the same outfit she wore almost every day.  
Iko pushed past her and opened her closet.  
"Here." She tossed Cress a red jacket, a white shirt, and a black skirt.  
"Iko. I don't have time to change. It starts in five minutes." Cress said, re-folding the clothes.  
"At least wear the jacket?" Iko begged, batting her eyelashes mockingly.  
"Fine. And don't do that. You look like _her,"_ Cress replied, slipping on the jacket.  
"Ugh." Iko shook her head. "Wait, where's Winter?"  
"She went early. Something about wishing 'Selene and Scarlet-friend good luck.'" Cress opened the door to her dorm room and grabbed her key off the nightstand.  
"Wait!" exclaimed Iko.  
Cress turned around to face her.  
"How's my paint? And do you want me to do yours? It only takes a minute, I swear," she asked.  
"I'm good, thanks. And your face looks great." Cress replied as they descended down the staircase.  
They left the dorms and walked to the athletics building. Already, Cress could hear the squeak of shoes on the gym floor, and the cheering of the crowd that wasn't quite as large as the football game.  
"LET'S GO, CINDER!" Iko shouted as she stepped into the gym.

* * *

Cinder went over the plan three times in her head. She wasn't going to screw this up for the team. Everyone was counting on her, everyone was-  
A loud voice yelling her name made her look up. Iko, wearing a bright Luna Academy outfit, waved at her.  
She waved back halfheartedly, as the whistle shrieked, and the game started.  
The ball was flying past her, and the game was moving so fast she could barely keep up. But suddenly, she found herself at the center of attention, the ball soaring towards her.  
She jumped up and spiked it as hard as she could.  
There was a cry, then a collective gasp from the audience. The coach halted the game and hurried over to a girl in the crowd, who lay almost unmoving on the ground. Cinder scrutinized the girl, trying to see who it was.  
"Stars, my head hurts. And everything's moving. It's-" she moaned.  
The coached propped up the girl, who pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead.  
Cinder saw who it was, and stumbled back a step. Everything muted around her, as she grabbed Scarlet and pointed.  
To Levana.

* * *

Kai's jaw dropped. _How had that happened?_  
Levana was sitting up now, eyes unfocused. She looked at Cinder, a look of absolute loathing on her face. The coach said something to her, then called, "We need to get this girl to the hospital. Now!"  
Cinder was clutching Scarlet like a lifeline, looking horribly guilty.  
 _Had she done it on purpose? Was it because of_ him?  
All around him, kids were whispering and pointing and yelling and even crying, as the muffled sound of sirens came from outside. A group of uniformed medical officials rushed Levana out on a stretcher, one of them staying behind to talk to the teachers.  
Mr. Park then led Cinder away, and the room dissolved into chaos.  
Kai rushed over to Scarlet. "What exactly happened?"  
Scarlet shook her head. "I don't know, Kai. She just...hit her."  
"Was it an accident?" Kai pressed.  
"Why would Cinder do that on purpose?"  
Iko was suddenly beside them. "I'm not saying she _did,_ but she had good reason to..."  
"What? Selene would never do such a thing!" It was Winter, and Jacin was beside her.  
Carswell, Wolf, and Cress trailed behind them.  
"Levana and Cinder had... a rocky history. They used to go to school together. I don't think Cinder would do it on purpose, though."  
"Stars." Carswell said softly, "That was epic."  
" _Epic?!_ " Iko said, her voice shrill. "Epic?! She could be expelled, Carswell."  
"Hey, I didn't say I wasn't worried!"  
Kai took a deep breath. "Expelled?" Cinder couldn't be expelled.  
Winter ducked her head. "Poor Selene."  
Kai tried to smile. _Be a good leader,_ his father's voice said in his mind.  
"Guys. This is Cinder we're talking about. She will not get expelled. And they wouldn't want to expel her. The best Robotics student ever? One of the smartest kids in the school?"  
They all nodded a little at that, looking more relaxed.  
As the teacher tried to usher the students out of the gym, Kai looked toward Mr. Park's office, hoping that Cinder really was okay.

* * *

Cinder sat in Mr. Park's office, in a low chair that made her feel two feet tall.  
"Well? Explain yourself."  
"It was an accident."  
"The aim was impeccable. It can't have been an accident."  
"Ask anyone. I'm terrible at volleyball. I didn't mean to hit her."  
Mr. Park leaned forward over his desk.  
Cinder lifted her chin. She did not shrink back.  
"Terrible at volleyball. Yet you're on the team. And you've been practicing." Mr. Park said.  
"I'm not very good, even with practice. It was an accident. I swear."  
Mr. Park shook his head. "You hit her right in the head. The girl has a concussion. And we must contact her parents now."  
"I didn't mean to. I just hit the ball. I wasn't trying to hit her."  
"You just...hit the ball."  
"Yes." Cinder kept her voice even.  
"Very well. You may leave. But I'm warning you-"  
Cinder nodded curtly. "Very well. Have fun with that."  
She yanked open the door, and stormed into the hallway, fuming.  
She could only keep her cool for so long.

* * *

"Cinder. Aces, what happened?" Carswell said. He wanted to know every detail.  
Cinder had never struck him as a rule breaker, but he'd been wrong before.  
"Mr. Park is trying to frame me!" Cinder said.  
"No!" Iko gasped, scandalized. "I always knew-"  
"That he's up to no good?" Winter finished.  
"I never trusted him." Carswell said. "So wait, how did you hit her?"  
Cinder's eyes flashed with anger. "I didn't mean to, Carswell. That's the whole point!"  
Carswell put his hands up. "Sorry, sorry. Aces, calm down!'  
"I didn't mean to. It really was an accident."  
Iko brushed her braids out of her face, smearing her paint in the process. She put an arm around Cinder. "We know. And Mr. Park will too."  
"Yeah. They won't take just Mr. Park's word for it." Cress said softly.  
Carswell turned toward her. He'd forgotten she was there.  
He immediately felt guilty. "Cress is right." he said quickly.  
 _Wow, real tactful, Carswell._  
But Cress smiled, a blush creeping up her cheeks, and Carswell smiled back.

* * *

Cress was sure everyone could hear her heart beating. _Cinder is the main issue here._  
She tried to focus. Kai was talking now. What was he saying?  
Then everyone nodded, so she did too.  
"Alright, well it's that time!" Carswell said.  
Cress frowned. "What?"  
"Study group! C'mon, you guys didn't forget, did you?" he said.  
"Of course not!" Iko said.  
Everyone shifted uncomfortably.  
"Guys. Nothing's changed, you know that?" Cress tried. "No one's in trouble. We're all okay. So let's go."  
She began walking towards the library, surprised at her own leadership.  
Carswell was the first to follow.  
She wished she felt more confident than she looked.


	10. The Test

"Iko, did you know we had a test today?!" Cinder asked, frantically flipping through her English and Literature binder.  
"Yes," Iko replied coolly, "but I don't know why you didn't know. _You're_ supposed to be the responsible one." She smirked.  
"Don't worry, it's not that bad," she added, as Cinder gnawed on her pen, almost ripping her papers.  
"Stars above, this is hard. Iko, what am I going to do?" she said, slumping back in her chair.  
Iko sat down beside her, gently opening the binder to the notes. "You're going to read this over, take a deep breath, and calm down," she said.  
Cinder smiled wearily, and pressed her hands against her eyes, letting her heavy breathing and tenseness subside. She was going to be fine. Iko was right. She traced her finger along the notes as she read them. Suddenly, the bell shrieked overhead, and Cinder sprang to her feet.  
"Now?! I'm not ready!" she cried, but Iko grabbed her hand and practically dragged her to Mr. Park's room.  
Cinder slid into a seat beside Kai, and read his notes over his shoulder as they both tried to cram in some last minute studying. He looked up at her and smiled, and she tried to smile back.  
Beside her, Iko was closing her eyes and whispering under her breath, her own method of reviewing.  
Mr. Park cleared his throat, and Cinder's head snapped up to look at him.  
He began to pass out the test, and Cinder took another deep breath.  
Iko flashed her a thumbs-up.

* * *

Carswell had no clue what to do. Of course, _he_ hadn't studied. But stars, if he failed another test... his father was already mad enough. And he'd never get into Andromeda University if he didn't do well. He'd never live up to his father or achieve his dream of being a military pilot.

Carswell stole a glance around the room. He saw Cress, bent over her paper, scribbling furiously, and Cinder chewing on her pen, and Kai...  
Kai's paper was positioned so Carswell could see almost everything he was writing clearly. Thorne shifted so he could see it without craning his neck, then coughed, once.  
Kai looked up and frowned. He smiled lightly at Carswell, completely oblivious, then turned back to his work.  
Carswell picked up his pen, and looked at the first question.  
 _Read the following passage. From the first sentence, one can infer which of the following about the main character's moral beliefs?_  
And then there was a list of five choices, and then there was a three page long passage.  
Carswell watched Kai circle _B_ as the answer.  
Carefully, slowly, he drew a neat circle around _B._ As Kai turned the page, Carswell counted to ten before doing the same.  
For the next question, Kai chose _C_. So did Carswell. Kai then chose _E,_ and contemplated before erasing it and choosing _D._ Carswell circled _D._  
Suddenly, there was a loud crinkle of papers from behind him. He turned around to see Cress gaping at him, eyes wide.  
 _What are you doing?_ she mouthed.  
Heat rushed up Carswell's cheeks, and he turned back around.  
Cress cleared her throat pointedly, and Carswell whirled around again. _Nothing,_ he mouthed back.  
"Crescent Darnel." Mr. Park's voice startled Carswell. "Cheating?"  
"No- I-" Cress said, her voice quiet.  
"See me after class." Mr. Park walked over and snatched away her test. "You will receive a zero."  
"But I wasn't-" Cress said meekly.  
"No excuses. Cheating is not to be tolerated."  
Cress looked hopelessly at Carswell. He did not meet her eyes, and turned away, burning with guilt and mortification.  
Cress buried her head in her hands as Carswell turned back to Kai.

* * *

 _You will receive a zero._  
The words echoed in Cress's head as she pressed her hands against her eyes to keep the tears from falling. Carswell had resumed _his_ cheating, sneaking glances at Kai's paper, heedless to how hard Cress was trying to keep herself together.  
He'd looked right at her, and said nothing.  
When Mr. Park scolded her, he said nothing.  
When her test was collected, he said nothing.  
When a single tear traced its way down her cheek as she stared at him in shock, he said nothing.  
She hated Carswell. She couldn't believe she'd ever liked him. He was an awful, cruel, despicable cheater who didn't care about her at all. Who didn't care about anyone but himself.  
He was no better than Levana.  
Her heart hardened, and her hopelessness crystallized into a fierce, fragile anger.  
 _How could he?_  
How could he let her take the blame, and go on cheating? How could he watch her cry, and continue as if nothing had happened?  
She hated him. _Hated_ him.  
And she hated herself for feeling heartbroken.

* * *

Something was off. Winter would have never pegged Cress as a cheater.  
"Cress?" she asked gently, when they were back in their room.

Cress grunted, the sound muffled due to the fact that her face was buried in her pillow.  
"Why did you cheat?" Winter was genuinely curious. Cress was one of the smartest kids in the class.  
Cress turned her head to face Winter. Her face was streaked with tears, and her eyes were puffy and red.  
"I didn't," she mumbled.  
"But-"  
"Carswell was cheating. Off of Kai. And I saw him, and asked what he was doing..."  
Winter gasped, horrified.  
"Carswell didn't even say anything," Cress said, her voice sounding broken. "He just- just kept _cheating."_  
Winter awkwardly moved to hug Cress, but she was still lying down, her fists clenched around her long blonde hair.  
"That's awful," she said.  
"He doesn't even care," Cress replied softly. "How could he not care?"  
"I never thought-" Winter started, but there was suddenly a loud pounding on their door.  
"Open up!" a voice shouted from behind the door. Winter could not figure out who it was.  
She opened the door a crack, and peeked out. It was a hysterical looking Iko, frantically pushing the door open.  
" _What happened?_ " she demanded.

* * *

Scarlet left her room, prepared to yell at whoever was causing such a commotion.  
If it was that awful Levana...  
But she was greeted by a rather surprising sight- an enraged Iko pulling a disconcerted Cress into a fierce hug, while Winter patted her back sympathetically.  
"What happened?" Scarlet asked, inching closer.  
"That terrible Carswell cheated and blamed Cress, _that's_ what happened!" Iko snapped, and Scarlet could have sworn her eyes flashed red for a moment.  
"What?" Scarlet vaguely recalled Mr. Park addressing her class about cheating, but since she was in a later class with Emilie, she was still mostly in the dark.  
Thankfully, Winter stepped in to explain, which was a good thing because Iko looked more than a little insane.  
"Where's Cinder?" Scarlet asked, noticing she was missing.  
"Robotics competition. She couldn't miss it. Only one of us had to be there, and she's more into it." Iko said shortly.

"I wish I just knew why Carswell would..." Cress said.  
Scarlet shrugged. "I thought he was annoying, but I never thought he'd do _this."_

* * *

Carswell couldn't figure out why he felt so guilty. Cress was just another girl, like Kate Fallow, whose math homework he'd copied last year, or all those other girls he'd invited to the school dance, and then made up excuses not to come. He didn't really care. So why was Cress different?  
Why did he feel so bad when Mr. Park caught her?  
He decided to talk to her, use his charm to smooth everything over.  
But when he walked to her room, he was stopped by Scarlet and Iko, both glaring at him.  
"Ladies, sorry, but I need to speak to Cress," he said smoothly.  
"No you don't. Unless you're here to apologize, and tell Mr. Park what _really_ happened." Scarlet replied loftily.  
"I'm sorry?" Carswell asked.  
"Don't play dumb. You know exactly what we mean." Iko's tone was icy, a far cry from her usual cheerful voice.  
Carswell plastered a smile onto his face, but even he wasn't feeling it anymore. He felt horrible.  
"I want to apologize," he said, the words sounding foreign on his tongue. "I'm going to tell Mr. Park."  
Scarlet raised an eyebrow.  
"Seriously. Just...let me talk to her. Please."  
Iko swung open the dorm room door, and both girls stepped inside without a word.

* * *

Cress tried to hold herself together. She would not cry in front of Carswell.  
She was strong, and she was better than him.  
She finally persuaded Iko to let her and Carswell talk in private, and then she stepped outside.

"What?" she said, her voice quieter than she would have liked.  
"I'm sorry. That was stupid, and rude of me to do, and we can go to Mr. Park right now to fix it." Carswell's voice had lost its usual finesse.  
"Really?" Cress asked.  
Carswell rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah."  
Cress could hear her heart pounding, and feel the hope like a tangible thing. He was apologizing. He really did care.

"Let's go, then." Cress kept her voice even and aloof, not betraying anything.  
 _This changes nothing._  
But she wanted so badly to forgive him, to live out the fairytale she'd build in her head.  
"You coming?" asked Carswell from a few paces ahead of her.  
"What-? Yeah," she walked after him.


	11. Author's Note

Why hello there, reader. Sorry to bore you with this, though after ten chapters of my story I feel it's necessary.

First off, I would like to thank each and every one of you: my readers, my reviewers, and those who favorite/follow my story. It's you guys who really inspire me to keep writing. The line spacing is an issue that has come up often, and though I've sort of addressed it in reviews, the link refuses to cooperate so I'll tell you here:

This story was originally published on a site called Quotev. It is essentially a site where you can publish stories and quizzes. But unfortunately, the content isn't as quality as , which is why a few months ago I made the decision to move Luna Academy here.

Since it was first written on Quotev, when I transferred it here there were some issues with formatting, hence the strange spacing. I will definitely try to work on it in the future but I apologize if it's making the story difficult to read.

Also, as so not to have you all hate on this 'not-a-real-chapter-', I will offer you some information, a sort of sneak peek into my next update: You will meet Liam Kinney. There will be some starting Kiko moments. ;) Hopefully I'll have that chapter up soon :)

As for the future- I have a few ideas in the works, but I want to know what _you_ want to see. Have a favorite ship? Tell me, and I'll try to incorporate it into the next chapters. Have an idea for a plot? Feel free to let me know! Want any other characters introduced? By all means, tell me who!

I may be the author, but you all are the readers :) and you deserve a say!

I will definitely have the next chapter published very soon, but until then, I am signing off. :)

~Cyrene Lysandra


	12. Ski Club

Iko finished the last sentence of her essay and closed her laptop. _Finally,_ she thought.  
That essay had been a disaster. She turned to Cress, who was playing a game on her phone, having finished her homework ages ago. As usual.  
Iko poked her shoulder.  
"Hm?" Cress looked up, her finger still tapping the screen.  
"You should do a sport."  
"What?" Cress replied. " _No."_  
"C'mon! It'll be fun. And we can all do it with you!" Iko pressed.  
Also, she had her heart set on the winter sports trip into the mountains, and she didn't want to go alone. But that was beside the point.  
Iko opened her laptop again and pulled up the list of winter sports. "Look! Snowboarding, hockey, figure skating..."  
"Um...maybe skiing?" Cress asked, chewing her lip.  
Iko's eyes lit up. "Skiing sounds perfect!"  
"I wasn't-" Cress started, but Iko dismissed her with a wave of her hand.  
"Guys! We should all do skiing!" she proclaimed to the rest of the study group.  
"Huh?" Cinder looked up through her unkempt bangs.  
"Like, for a winter sport!" Iko replied.  
"Not competitively, I hope," Kai said with a chuckle. "I mean, I've been with my dad a few times, but I'm not-"  
"I snowboard," Carswell said with a shrug. "It's not a big deal, but I've been doing it for years and I'm pretty good, if I do say so myself."  
After a very sincere apology, as well as confessing to Mr. Park, Cress had decided to forgive him, and had told everyone else to do the same.  
Cinder rolled her eyes at Carswell's comment. Iko knew that she too was a snowboarder, and a talented one at that.  
"Well, we don't have to do the team. We can just do ski club. And there's snowboarding." Iko said, winking at Carswell.  
"Ski club," Jacin deadpanned.  
Winter nudged him. "We should! It'll be fun!"  
Scarlet shrugged. "I'm in, I guess."  
Wolf nodded. "Me too, then."  
"Please please _please_ , Cinder! You'll love it!" Iko promised.  
Cinder sighed. "Fine. But don't-"  
"Done!" Iko said. "We're all in! I'll sign us up right now!"  
She skipped from the room, leaving a very bewildered Cress standing by the laptop.

* * *

"How did I get myself into this?" Scarlet asked.  
"Well, I said I might want to do skiing...and then Iko, um..." Cress trailed off, blushing.  
Cinder smiled knowingly. "That's Iko for you."  
Cress sighed. "I've never even tried skiing," she said softly.  
And she really didn't want to embarrass herself. She was pretty sure everyone else had been skiing or snowboarding before.  
Winter patted Cress reassuringly. "Don't worry, neither have I," she said, tugging at one of her bouncy dark curls.  
She turned to Jacin. "Is it hard?"  
Jacin shrugged. "Once you get it, it's easy."  
Cinder rolled her eyes. "Great advice, Jacin."  
Cress didn't feel reassured at all.

* * *

Cinder was rolling her eyes at Iko, who was bent over her laptop, scrolling through pictures of brightly colored skis  
"Ooh, I like these," she said, the pointer hovering over a multicolored, almost iridescent pair. "What do you think?"  
"I think you shouldn't worry about how they look."  
"C'mon! You know it's better than your lame snowboard." Iko replied, sticking her tongue out at Cinder. "I'm getting these."  
"Fine, but you'd better actually ski instead of just taking pictures of them."  
Iko scrolled down the page. "Oh, I forgot to get a jacket to match them!"  
"Iko, you have a jacket," Cinder replied, exasperated.  
She didn't care what her equipment looked like. She just cared that it was functional, and that she wouldn't be freezing cold.  
Iko made a sour face. "You're no fun. I'm going to ask Cress to help me."  
She shut her laptop and slipped it into her bag.  
Cinder sighed. "Tell me you at least finished the Robotics sketch?"

"That's due?" Iko asked.  
"Yes, it is actually, " Cinder replied, crossing her arms.  
"Well...I'm almost done..."  
"Let's see it, then."  
Iko took out her graph paper and presented it to Cinder. It was completely blank, except for her name written at the top.  
Cinder frowned. " _Almost done?"_  
"Um, well you see-" Cinder raised an eyebrow. " _Fine,_ I'll do it." Iko said grumpily, tossing her bag onto her bed and sitting down at her desk.  
She took out her pencils and begin her sketch.

* * *

Wolf was not looking forward to skiing. It was awkward and embarrassing, and he'd rather not go flying down the mountain like a fool.  
Especially when Carswell, Kai and Jacin would all show him up.  
"You good?" Kai asked from across the room, where he was working on his Speech and Debate essay.  
"Yeah, I'm just not looking forward to ski club."  
"Why? You afraid?"  
Wolf didn't know why, exactly, but he said. "No, I'm a very good skier, actually."  
Kai raised his eyebrows. "Really?"  
"Yes, I used to ski a lot at home," _What is wrong with you, Ze'ev?!_  
Kai chuckled. "Can't wait to see it, then. Funny, I pictured you as more of a snowboarder."  
"Nope, skiing," Wolf's voice was coming out oddly high-pitched.  
"Nice," Kai replied, turning back to his essay.

"Yeah..." Wolf muttered.  
What was wrong with him? He'd never skied in his entire life, he didn't even know how to put the things on, and now he'd gotten himself into this mess. Stars, if Scarlet found out...  
As if he'd summoned her, there was a knock on the door, and Wolf opened it to see Scarlet standing there. He made an attempt to smooth down his wildly unkempt hair, but it just popped back up.  
"Uh, hey, Scarlet," he said.  
"Hey. Can you help me with the math homework?" she asked.  
Wolf nodded, pulling his notebook out of his bag. As he did so, a flurry of papers exploded from the bag, landing on top of the already messy bed.  
It wasn't even that messy. It was just that Kai kept his side impeccably clean. Wolf ran to pick up the papers, crinkling them in the process.  
"Here," Scarlet handed him the math homework in question. It was covered in barely legible handwriting.  
Wolf took it. "What did you have a question on?" he asked, reading over the paper. He'd usually been able to read his own handwriting but this time-  
He realized the paper was upside down and hastily flipped it over.  
"Number three," Scarlet said, brushing a red curl from her face.  
"Right. Number three. See, for this one, I uh- and then-" Wolf stuttered.  
From his spot on the other side of the room, Kai coughed, startling Wolf. He'd forgotten his roommate was there.  
Wolf gestured to his answer for problem three, finally finding the right words. "And that's how you get thirty-six," he finished.  
"Thanks," said Scarlet, scribbling things down on her own paper.  
"Is that all?" Wolf asked.  
"Yeah. See you at Ski Club tomorrow, it's our first trip," Scarlet replied, waving.  
Wolf sheepishly dragged a hand through his hair again. "Ski Club. Tomorrow. Right. Can't wait," he said gruffly.  
Scarlet gave him one last smile before shutting the door behind her.  
"What's wrong?" Kai asked.  
"What? Nothing." Wolf replied defensively.  
"If you say so. But I thought you'd be more excited for skiing, seeing as you're good at it," Kai replied. "I'll admit, I'm not the best at it. Maybe you could give me some pointers tomorrow?"  
"Sure," Wolf said with a shrug, not meeting Kai's eyes.  
Tomorrow was going to be a disaster.

* * *

Winter was wistfully clicking through pictures on her computer. "I wish Ryu could come tomorrow. He loves the snow," she said to no one in particular.  
She'd missed Ryu while at school. She just had to hope he was being taken care of at home.  
"Who's Ryu?" Cress asked.  
"Oh, he's my dog. See?" Winter tilted the laptop so Cress could see. "He likes playing fetch."  
Cress gave a small smile at the picture. It was a rather large dog with pure white fur, and Cress thought it looked more like a wolf then a dog.  
"Are you excited for ski club? It was your idea after all." Winter asked, tilting her head.  
Cress scrunched up her shoulders in a shrug. "I guess. I've never really tried..."  
"I'm excited to learn. Besides, Jacin said it wasn't too hard." Winter replied with an encouraging smile. The flecks of gold in her eyes brightened as she smiled.  
"I hope it's not," Cress replied, not sounding nearly as enthusiastic.  
"You'll be fine," Winter assured her. "Only a few of them know how to ski anyway, so you won't be alone."  
Cress hoped there was truth to her words. Otherwise, tomorrow would be disastrous.


	13. Liam Kinney

On the day of their first ski trip, Cress woke up nervous and jittery. She sat in her bed worrying and fiddling with her hair for a while, until Winter decided to wake up, yawning with a graceful stretch and fluffing her dark curls.  
"Our first ski trip! Isn't this exciting?" she asked.  
Cress's clenched her fists tighter around her hair, which was entwined around her arms. "Mm." she replied, not really sure how to answer.  
Winter smiled. "Don't be nervous, Crescent. We are going to have a lot of fun, I promise."  
Cress stepped out of bed, smoothing down her worn blue nightgown. "What are we supposed to wear, anyway?"  
"Lots of layers and warm clothes," Winter advised, pulling things from her closet and laying them on her bed.  
Cress nodded, opening her own closet and surveying the options. Why did she own so many dresses?  
That was when there was a sharp knock on the door. The excited voice behind it was unmistakable. "Who's excited for the ski trip?"  
Winter opened the door to see Iko, already fully dressed in a pure white jacket with a fur-lined hood, bright pink ski pants, and her blue hair tucked beneath a matching pink beanie adorned with a fluffy white puffball. "You guys!" she exclaimed. "You aren't even dressed yet?"  
"Um, we just woke up, actually..." Cress said.  
Iko strode into their room, towards the closet, and began pulling out clothing items seemingly at random. "Here, Cress. You should wear this, and this... and oh, this is a really nice sweater how come you never wear it-?" She tossed the sweater in question out of the closet; it flew and hit Cress in the face before falling to the floor.  
As Cress stooped to pick it up, Iko continued taking out clothes and talking a mile a minute about them.  
"There," she said finally, closing the closet doors. She almost couldn't because of the mess of clothes she'd left inside.  
Somehow, there was actually a decent skiing outfit laid out on Cress's bed. Most of the stuff was untouched and a few things still had the tags on them, but it was better than what Cress would've chosen for herself.  
 _Who cares what you wear? You're going to look like an idiot anyway,_ she thought as she stepped into the bathroom to change.  
 _Shut up,_ she told herself. _I'm going to have a great time._  
She would make sure of it.

* * *

Wolf wanted to bang his head against the wall until he forgot how stupid he was. As he got dressed and made his way to the bus with Kai, he tried to think of a way out of his lie.  
Jacin and Carswell were already there, as were Scarlet and Cinder. There was a loose curl sticking out from beneath Scarlet's hood, and he resisted the urge to reach over and tuck it back. Instead, his hands fidgeted with the zipper of his jacket and adjusting his hat and twiddling his thumbs. He focused on avoiding everyone's gaze as they all chatted leisurely about the trip.  
Then the dreaded moment happened, as Kai turned towards him and said, "Wolf's a good skiier, too."  
"I- uh-" he stammered. Scarlet was smiling at him. "Yeah."  
"Maybe you could give me some pointers?" Winter said from behind them. Wolf turned to see her walking towards them, Iko and Cress close behind.  
"And Cress, too," she added, coming to a stop beside the bus.  
The three of them were teetering beneath the weight of their skis.  
"Here," Carswell said, grabbing Cress's skis. "We can put them on the bus. Iko, want me to get yours?" he asked.  
Jacin had already rushed forward to take Winter's.  
Iko shook her head. "I can do it myself, thank you very much."  
Carswell and Jacin quickly put down the skis and returned outside, but Iko struggled to get up the bus stairs.  
They all started when they heard a clatter from inside the bus.

* * *

"Watch where you're going!" Iko exclaimed indignantly, glaring at the boy who'd bumped into her.  
He turned to face her, and she lost her breath for a moment. Stars, this had to be the most handsome boy she'd ever seen. And he was glaring right back at her. "Me? You're the one who hit me with your skis!"  
"Well you're the one who knocked them out of my hands!" Iko snapped, turning away from him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I-"  
Her skis, which she'd placed precariously on the rack, toppled off again, landing near the boy with another loud clatter. He sighed. "What are you looking at?" he asked stiffly, picking up her skis.  
Iko realized she'd been staring. "Nothing. Nothing at all." And with that, she turned on her heel and stepped off the bus to rejoin her friends.  
"You could at least say thank you!" The boy's annoyed voice floated out from inside the bus.  
Iko didn't reply.

* * *

"What was that about?" Cinder asked, noticing Iko's flustered expression.  
Iko was never flustered about anything.  
"Oh, nothing. Just this super annoying kid who can't watch where he's going," she replied, narrowing her eyes.  
"Who?" Carswell asked, raising an eyebrow.  
Iko sniffed. "It wasn't like that. And I don't know who."  
Carswell nodded knowingly. "Okay, if you say so..."  
Cinder turned as she heard another set of footsteps. A boy exited the bus, glowering at Iko. "Is that him?"  
"Yes, in fact, it is. But whatever."  
"That's Liam. He's on the football team," Kai remarked.  
"Really? Well that explains how hot he is." Iko replied matter-of-factly.  
Cinder rolled her eyes. "I thought you said it 'wasn't like that,'."  
"It wasn't!" Iko replied indignantly.  
Winter had a small smile on her face, mittened hands clasped together.  
"Let's just, get on the bus, okay?" Iko replied.  
Smirking at her friend, Cinder stepped onto the bus and found a seat with Kai.

* * *

The bus was packed to the brim with students bundled in warm clothing. It was hot and stuffy, to the point where Cress had to undo her fluffy scarf and tuck it into her bag. She was sitting beside Iko, who kept stealing glances at that Liam kid.  
"Why do you keep looking at him?" Cress asked.  
"I'm not!" Iko said defensively.  
Cress gave a small smile. "Yes, you are."  
Iko narrowed her eyes, then shrugged. "Whatever," she said with a snort, before rifling through her bag and pulling out her phone.

She took a quick picture of herself and Cinder, much to Cinder's annoyance, and posted it. Of course, she'd have to document every moment of this trip. It only made sense.

* * *

As the hours toiled on, Carswell grew more and more restless. He tapped his foot, fiddled with his zipper, and made faces at Jacin until his roommate was glowering at him.

"I'm bored," he stated for the umpteenth time, earning another eye roll from Cinder.

"C'mon, let's do something fun, guys." he said.

"Like what?" Iko asked, turning to face him.

Carswell sighed. "I don't know. We could play a game, or sing or something."

Scarlet snorted. "Sing?" she scoffed.

"I like singing," Cress said softly.

Carswell grinned at her, "so, why don't you start us off?"

Cress shook her head. "Not in front of other people..." she trailed off.

"Wolf do you sing?" Carswell asked, because he found that idea delightfully hilarious.

Wolf shook his head. Carswell couldn't help but notice that he looked a bit nervous.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. And I don't sing," Wolf replied stiffly.

That was when Liam asked in an irritated voice, "could you please keep it down?"

Iko stuck out her tongue at him.

He scowled at her. "Oh, it's you."

"I have a name, you know," Iko replied indignantly.

"I don't really care," Liam replied.

Carswell suppressed a smirk.

"It's Iko," she said, crossing her arms.

"I don't care," he said again.

Iko huffed in frustration before turning away from him.

A knowing look passed between Carswell, Cinder, and Scarlet as they assessed the situation.

Iko may have been the one trying to always mess with their relationships, but she would soon be in for quite a surprise.


	14. The Mountain Trip

The ride was long. Too, excruciatingly long. And the bus was hot. So hot, in fact, that Iko lost her usual poise and took off her jacket and hat and draped them unceremoniously on the small armrest between her and Cinder- much to Cinder's discomfort.

"Can you move that?" she asked, in the irritable voice that had overtaken nearly all of them.

Iko shifted in her cramped seat, sighing as she grabbed her things and stuffed them onto the floor at her feet. "Sorry," she muttered apologetically.

Her usual chipper voice had diminished slightly.

"How much longer?" Cress wondered aloud

Scarlet turned to look at them from her seat beside Winter, where her forehead had been pressed against the window. "Too long," she said, settling back against the window with a small _thud._

"I don't mind this," Carswell said with a good-natured smile. "Gives us time to bond, and mingle, you know?" he added with a suggestive wink.

But they were all so tired that even Iko didn't humor him.

Cinder followed her friend's gaze and realized why- Liam, the boy she had encountered earlier, was sitting a few seats away from their group, reading a book.

"Cute and smart," Iko murmured, earning a look from Cinder.

"What?" she asked.

Cinder just shook her head. How was it, that Iko was so attuned to who liked who, and everyone around them, but so oblivious to her own thoughts and feelings?

She let out an exasperated sigh at it all, earning a concerned glance from Kai, which she pretended to ignore.

He opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment the bus halted to a stop, the screeching of the breaks making them all flinch.

* * *

Winter gazed out of the window, her warm breath making small puffs in the somewhat grimy glass. Her hands were splayed, framing the mountain between her fingers as her bright eyes took in the scenery.

A second later she felt a light tug at one of her curls, and she turned around to see Jacin waiting for her. "C'mon, Trouble," he said. "Everyone else is already off the bus."

Winter realized that she had been taking in the view of the mountain for far longer than she had originally thought. "Oh, okay," she said, pulling her hat over her wild, dark hair before following him out to join their friends.

The rather bitter chill, accentuated by the flurries of snow gently falling from the gray clouds above, was a stark contrast from the stiflingly warm bus. Winter looked at all of her friends, who were chatting amiably, their breath visible in puffs that resembled mist.

"Anyway, enough talk," Carswell said after awhile, "though I'm sure you all love the alluring sound of my voice," he added with a wink, earning an eye roll from both Cinder and Scarlet. "When can we actually get on the slopes?"

Reading from the itinerary, it was Cress who spoke up. "Well right now, we have a few hours to get settled into the lodge and have lunch. Then we can actually start skiing."

Winter caught a slight tremor of worry in her roommate's voice, and so she sent an encouraging smile her way. "Right," she said. "I guess we should head inside then?"

There were a few nods of agreement, and they all headed into the lodge.

* * *

Wolf spent far too long unpacking his things. His hotel room was smaller than his dorm, but he was still sharing with Kai. Not that he minded. Kai kept things impeccably neat, though Wolf sometimes thought that made him look bad- even when his things were only slightly messy, it looked like a disaster in comparison.

But he was dreading actually skiing, so he took the time to carefully put away his clothes and immaculately arrange the rest of his belongings.

Even Iko was done unpacking before him, and before he knew it they were all waiting in the lobby, and Kai had finally managed to drag Wolf down to meet them.

Everyone was more warmly dressed than before, having piled on layers of sweaters and jackets against the winter weather outside.

"We should make a plan," Cinder said, right before they were about to head out.

"I think that we should have a meeting place. You know, if one of us gets lost or something..." Wolf offered, sounding somewhat quiet.

Carswell barked out a laugh at that. "A meeting place?" he shook his head.

"I think that's a good idea," Cress said softly, which somehow got Carswell to stop laughing and...

If Wolf wasn't mistaken, he looked almost _guilty._

Cinder spread out a rather crinkled trail map on a low table a few feet away from them, prompting everyone to shift closer to see it clearly.

They began to talk about logistics, Kai and Scarlet both pitching in with suggestions as to where this meeting place should be, but all Wolf could think about was her flaming red hair...

Which would probably be the same color as his face once Wolf actually attempted to ski and utterly failed.

"Well?" she said to him suddenly, expectantly, and Wolf cleared his throat and gave a stiff nod, hoping it would suffice.

Alright, then it's settled," Cinder said, folding up the map and tucking it into her pocket. "If that's all, I guess we're ready to go."

Wolf nodded once more, before realizing- Stars, he had no clue where on earth the meeting place was.

* * *

Cress was shaking, and not from the cold. She was on a ski lift with Carswell and trying not to think about how close they were. She had been meaning to go with Iko or Winter, but that had not been possible amongst the frenzy that was the lift line.

She busied herself with looking at the mountain below them, though watching everyone glide smoothly down the slopes was only more of a reminder of how stupid she would probably look.

Her cheeks heated up at that thought, and she prayed to all the stars that Carswell wouldn't notice.

"Hey, you okay?" he said suddenly, prompting Cress to tear her gaze away from the skiers.

"Yeah," she said, nodding, but her voice came out far too quietly.

"Listen..." Carswell paused for a brief moment before continuing. "I know it's probably frightening, but trust me, you'll be fine."

Cress couldn't imagine Carswell, who always exuded confidence to be afraid of anything. But she swallowed hard and nodded.

"Besides, we won't take you on any of the hard stuff," Carswell added, "only someone as talented as me could handle them," he added, and Cress managed a laugh.

Cinder would probably challenge him on that, but Cress didn't say anything.

That was when the dreaded moment occurred. The lift was nearing the top, and Cress wished it would just slow down. The ride hadn't been nearly as excruciating as she had thought.

She carefully stepped off with Carswell, teetering a little as she glided towards where their friends were waiting, and blushing furiously as he put a hand on her arm to steady her.

Her heart was thudding, and she looked up at him, but already he was chatting with the others, winking at Iko as he tugged on one of her braids.

Cress shook off the disappointment and instead turned it into determination. Determination, as they all came to a consensus to start on a green slope, heedless to Carswell's complaining.

"If anyone takes a wrong turn," Cinder said, "just find the meeting place. But we'll try not to get separated."

"Aye aye, Captain!" Iko said with an enthusiastic salute.

And with that, they all began to make their way to the slope.

* * *

Liam most certainly did not expect to see _her_ of all people. Iko. That insufferable blue-haired girl from the bus, out on the slopes, taking pictures and talking to her camera as she skied, with little regard for the people around her.

At least, that was what it looked like to Liam. But she was actually a good skier, he realized with frustration. Despite her distractions, she was able to navigate with ease.

He hadn't realized he was scowling right at her until she met his gaze and glared back.

* * *

It was only a green slope, and a virtually empty one at that, but Jacin was worried out of his mind. He stayed close to Winter, offering her guidance, but every time she slipped, even just a little, his heart skipped a beat.

He was an okay skier; not really fond of the sport, which meant his skill was lacking.

Unlike his roommate, it seemed, who was doing flips on his snowboard and going around trees just for fun, and Cinder, who was outdoing him just to spite him, much to Kai's amusement. But if Jacin hadn't been mistaken he saw a twinge of jealousy there.

Scarlet was zipping past all of them, a blur of red jacket and red hair whipping in the wind.

Jacin looked for Wolf, who seemed to have a tendency to be near her, but he could not seem to find him. He shrugged it off, remembering earlier that Wolf was a very good skier, and so they didn't have anything to worry about.

And so he turned his attention back to Winter, who was laughing and seemed to be getting the hang of it. The sight of her having so much fun, eyes sparkling, almost made Jacin smile.

Almost.

He decided it was alright to leave her for a bit and pick up the pace since both she and Cress were going far too slow for his taste. So he assured himself that everything would be fine, and sped up a little to catch up with Kai.

* * *

Cress felt like she was actually starting to have control and not feel like she could tumble down the mountain at any moment, when she saw two girls zip past her, lightning fast.

So fast, in fact, that she could not see their faces. Only that they were getting dangerously close to Winter.

"Look out!" Cress called, so that either of them might stop.

But her voice was soft and evidently they hadn't heard her.

Not as they continued to barrel towards Winter.

Not as they collided with her, sending her into a tree.

There was a sickening thud, and Winter did not make a sound, save for a cry that was soft, muffled by her scarf.

Cress skied over as fast as she could, almost falling over herself, but- "Winter?"

Her friend did not stir. She was lying in the snow, head turned away so Cress could not see her face. But she did not risk turning her head.

"Winter!" she said again, an edge of panic to her voice.

That was when she finally thought to look for the girls who had hit her. They were already too far down to make out their faces, but...

But that ribbon of dyed auburn hair was unmistakable.

Levana.

* * *

Liam had hoped not to interact with any of Iko's so-called friends. But there were two girls- one of them a petite blonde calling for help, who looked on the verge of tears.

"Um, everything alright?" he asked, mentally kicking himself as he skied over to her.

"No," the girl replied. She sniffed before continuing. "This girl- _Levana-_ she- and now she's not getting up and-" She gestured towards the other girl, who was lying still in the snow.

 _Well, crap,_ Kinney thought.

"Where are your friends?" he asked, before realizing how harsh that probably sounded and offering what he hoped was an apologetic smile.

"They're..." she trailed off, something akin to a smile appearing as she looked past Liam.

He turned to see a very distraught looking group of people- Iko among them- speeding towards them.

A blond boy practically shoved his way to the front, an almost murderous look in his eyes as he said, "what the _hell_ happened?"

* * *

Iko was not used to seeing Jacin with so much... emotion.

She looked at Winter and felt the panic rise in her chest, but now...

Now was not the time to worry. Or think about stupid Liam.

She quickly called for help, and a moment later they were carefully placing Winter onto a stretcher while Iko and her friends all watched helplessly.

"She's going to be alright, right?" Jacin asked fiercely.

There was not a straight answer. The officials asked them all a few questions in turn, and then informed them that they were going to have to take Winter to the hospital.

"We're all going, too," Iko said firmly.

"Of course," Scarlet agreed with a nod.

And so they all quickly headed back to the lodge to change out of their thick parkas and snow pants, and then they raced to the hospital as fast as they could.


	15. The Hospital

All Winter could feel was a searing pain. It had numbed a bit since the initial fall, but her mouth was dry and gummy and the lights-

The lights were bright, far too bright. Her vision was blurry, and she couldn't make out the people around her. Couldn't make out what they were saying.

Couldn't say anything herself, because when she opened her mouth all that came out was a raspy sigh-like noise that was unintelligible.

Where was she?

It was far too warm to be the mountain, but at the same time, she knew it couldn't be the lodge because there was a strong smell of antiseptic.

And she was lying down. A rather painful turn of her head allowed her to see wires and machines, and needles and-

 _Was she at a hospital?_

* * *

Scarlet entered the hospital with the rest of her friends, all of them a frenzied, worried mess. They approached the front desk, which was occupied by an irritated-looking man. "Can I help you?" he asked, biting off each word.

"Yes," Iko said, leaning her hands on the desk. "We're looking for Winter."

The man arched an eyebrow. "Winter," he repeated drily.

Something about him unnerved Scarlet. "Yes. Winter," she snapped.

The man adjusted his coat, which was embellished with a name tag that said Jerrico. "You kids think I'm an idiot or something?"

"What?" Iko asked, sounding scandalized. "No. We just need to find Winter, she came in just a little while ago..."

Jerrico rolled his eyes. "I'm not helping you find a season."

"Listen, _Jerk-o-"_ Carswell cut in, and even Scarlet bit back a smirk at the mispronunciation.

" _Jer-ri-co,"_ he cut them off, saying it slowly.

"Whatever," Scarlet said dismissively, growing more irritated by the minute. "Where is Winter?" she asked again.

Jerrico narrowed his eyes. "I already said, I'm not helping you look for a season. If this is some sort of prank, get lost before I call security."

"Winter Hayle. We're looking for her. She isn't a season, she is our friend." Jacin said, speaking for the first time. He had been worried sick this entire time, quiet and stiff, ignoring the comforting words they were all offering each other.

Finally, _finally,_ Scarlet watched as Jerrico typed it into his computer. "She's in the ER still. They've just seen to her."

He was barely finished speaking before Jacin led what was essentially a stampede towards the ER.

Scarlet ran after them.

When they arrived, meeting- and probably scaring the crap out of- the doctor outside her room, they all pressed against the door.

"Can we go in?" Iko asked.

"She's not very lucid right now..." the doctor said.

Scarlet looked back at them all; their worried glances probably mirrored her own.

But then she realized something was wrong.

"Where is Wolf?"

* * *

Wolf was lost. Hopelessly lost. He was somewhere on this mountain that was far, far too large. And he had absolutely no clue where that somewhere was. Cold wind whipped around him as he tried to make sense of the trail map.

Stars, why was he such an idiot? Even if he could read the damned map, he had no clue where the meeting place was. He tried to think like Cinder: what place made the most sense? Somewhere central, somewhere...

He came up with nothing. He most definitely was _not_ Cinder.

Skiing had been one of the worst experiences of his life. Cress was better at it than him. Not that he was surprised. He decided to go back to the lodge. They would probably come back there soon enough anyway.

After a harrowing trip down the mountain, a breathless Wolf finally arrived back at the lodge. He secured his skis on the rack outside before stepping into the lobby.

There were some people inside, a few from the trip scattered throughout.

He saw Liam, who he remembered from the bus, and offered a rather awkward wave.

"Really?" was the boy's incredulous reply.

"What?" Wolf asked, frowning.

"You're not at the hospital?" Liam asked.

"Um...why would I be?" Wolf was confused. The hospital?

"All your friends are there. You know, because that- because _Winter_ fell?"

"She did?" Wolf asked, his confusion morphing into worry.

"Oh my stars, you are so..." Liam did not finish. Wolf did not want to know what he had been about to say.

What he did know, though, was that he had to get to the hospital. Without replying to Liam, he got a cab to the hospital as quickly as he could.

* * *

They were all huddled around Winter's bed, and Kai felt bad for her, since she could hardly even talk to them. Jacin was holding her hand- one of the only borderline caring gestures he had ever seen his friend make.

They were trying- and utterly failing- to talk softly as the doctor had instructed.

That was when a very distraught-looking Wolf opened the door.

"Where on earth have you been?" Scarlet asked, raising an eyebrow.

Wolf gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Just got a little tripped up on the way here, that's all," he said, but Kai could tell that his roommate was not telling them something.

"Oh, okay," Kai replied, giving Wolf a pointed look that clearly said _I'll cover for you now, but you'd better explain later._

That was when a collective gasp rose from everyone, and Kai made a few quick strides over to Winter's bed to see her open her eyes.

"Hello, friends," she said softly. "The snow is very nice, isn't it?"

"What?" asked Cinder.

"Are we in the hospital?" Winter asked.

Kai nodded with the rest of them. "Yeah. You, uh, fell."

"No," Cress said, her voice sharper than Kai had ever heard it. "Levana sent her flying into a tree."

"Great. Another reason to put her on my list," Cinder grumbled.

"List?" Carswell asked.

Cinder's only reply was a glare, prompting Kai to give a small chuckle.

"She will have to use crutches for some time," the doctor was saying, and Kai had forgotten that she was there.

"Crutches," Jacin repeated.

"Or a wheelchair," the doctor supplied, "though I don't think that will be necessary."

"We should, though. You can never be too careful, right?" Jacin asked, a tinge of worry in his voice.

Kai had pegged Jacin as cold and virtually emotionless, but apparently not, it seemed.

"I suppose. We can start her off with a wheelchair," the doctor said with a shrug.

"A wheelchair?" Winter said softly, prompting them all to whirl around to face her again.

The doctor gave a brisk nod. "I'm going to need your friends to leave now, though."

Jacin, upon seeing Winter's gaze fall on their clasped hands, released her and stepped back. "Oh, okay."

They all left reluctantly, promising to come again tomorrow. Or perhaps even later tonight, to which the doctor shook her head sympathetically and said, "only family can visit during night hours."

Kai lamented, but it seemed that his friends were not so quick to do the same. Already, he could see the gears turning in their minds. The unsaid assurances that they _were_ family.

Kai just shook his head, and met Cinder's gaze when he saw her doing the same. A quick glance passed between them, a smile of exasperation, before they looked away.

Kai wished that he hadn't.

* * *

Upon nightfall, Jacin once again stood in front of the hospital secretary. Iko had spun a wild story about how they were all related to Winter, and Jacin had been so worried he had let himself be roped into her schemes.

Now, he wasn't so sure.

"Okay, so I'm Winter's first cousin," Iko was saying. "Her father's mother's brother's son's sister's- so wait, that would be her grandmother's brother's daughter- is married to my dad. And-"

The secretary was shaking her head. "It's only immediate family," she said.

"First cousin is immediate! It's _first."_ Iko insisted.

The secretary sighed. "And you want to tell me that all of them-" she gestured to their entire group, "are immediate family too."

Iko nodded. "Okay, so her grandmother's brother also had a son, and that son married Jacin's mom. And then Jacin and Cress are siblings. And Scarlet is _their_ first cousin. But by association she is still related to Winter."

"Listen," the secretary said. "I can't let you kids go in. Just go before I have to call security."

"But listen- we're first cousins! Her mother's father- or wait, sorry, her father's mother is my-"

Cinder put a hand on Iko's arm. "C'mon," she said. "We don't want to get in trouble."

Jacin nodded in agreement. If they called security they might never let them visit again. He helped Cinder and Kai drag Iko away, even though she was still rambling on about first cousins.

He forced himself not to look towards the ER. It was just a quick walk away. Winter was just a quick walk away. And she was in good hands now.

But that was what he had told himself when he had left her on the ski slope, and look where they were now.

"You okay?" Kai asked him gently, prompting Jacin to shake out of his stupor and give him his usual curt nod. He was an expert at hiding his emotions.

But he also knew that Kai was an expert at detecting emotions.

Jacin narrowed his eyes slightly, hoping Kai would get the message.

Thank the stars that his friend let the matter drop. They went back to the lodge in silence.

* * *

Winter's amber eyes flew open.

The light was not nearly as bright now. In fact, in her small room it was practically dark. "Cress?" she asked softly.

Well, her voice worked, even if it was rather meek. There was no answer.

It was only then that she shifted in her small bed- and felt the tug of needles embedded in her arm. So she _was_ at the hospital.

Her memory was clouded. The last thing she remembered clearly was skiing with Cress. Then there were hazy memories of the hospital, and she was pretty sure her friends had visited at one point.

She looked at her hand, and was suddenly aflush with a vivid memory of Jacin holding it.

That was when she knew it had probably been just a dream.


	16. Revenge

Cress had almost gotten used to pushing Winter to homeroom each day. It was a few weeks after the ski trip, and though her roommate's knee was fine, Jacin had nearly had a heart attack the one time Winter had tried to walk to class with her crutches.

And so, she was still confined to a wheelchair, though Cress knew for a fact that she no longer needed it, seeing as Winter could navigate around their dorm room assisted only by occasionally leaning on furniture to keep her balance.

Cress also knew that, walking aside, Winter could push her own wheelchair. But of course, Jacin had refused to let her. To which Scarlet had snapped "don't coddle her."

And Jacin had replied, "oh, so you want her to fall again?"

Thankfully, both of them were quiet today as Cress and Winter arrived at Mr. Park's room.

He sneered even more at Winter than he used to, as if the injuries were a personal offense to him somehow. "Have a seat, girls," he said, with a pointed glance at Winter as his lip curled.

Cress did not let herself look at Levana, though she knew she was probably biting back a laugh. None of them had been fond of the girl before, but now...

Now it took a valiant amount of effort to keep from slapping her caked makeup right off her face.

All of them cast Levana and Sybil withering glares as they took their seats and Mr. Park began attendance.

Levana caught Cress glowering at her, but the girl merely lifted her coral-red lips in a smirk, before brushing her hair to fall daintily over one shoulder, and turning away.

* * *

Kai was trying to focus. The key word there was _trying._ Trying was not the same as succeeding, and that was evident now as he read the same sentence in his textbook, over and over without processing it.

He stole a glance around the room, gaze falling on each of his friends. Wolf was sketching what looked to be a football strategy on a napkin that had probably been stolen from the dining hall. He had been quieter after the fiasco of a skiing trip, and Kai still had yet to get a straight answer as to why it had taken him so long to get to the hospital.

Iko had gotten quieter too, and though she hadn't said anything on the matter, Kai knew that his friend blamed herself for what had happened. She had pushed them all towards the ski trip, after all, and though she couldn't have possibly foreseen what had happened, she was still guilty. And all of them had felt her lack of cheerfulness.

Mr. Park had started to talk, now, droning on about something regarding persuasive writing, but Kai's gaze had landed on Cinder, and he wasn't listening anymore.

She caught his eye as she looked up, prompting him to look away and become oddly engrossed with his textbook work.

He still couldn't muster up the courage to talk to her as much as he would like to, and most of their conversations were now within their big group of friends. Not that he minded that, but he would have liked something a bit more personal.

Carswell had teased him incessantly about his _crush_ on her, and he had denied in countless times. Now, he wasn't so sure.

* * *

The class had been almost silent, save for the scratch of pens on paper and the rustle of pages as people flipped through the textbooks, for its entirety. That was why Winter nearly fell out of her wheelchair when the bell shrieked, startling them all.

Jacin was at her side in an instant, carefully wheeling her out of the classroom and to Sewing, her next class. He wasn't even in that class, and she could push herself (actually, she could probably walk now), but he wouldn't hear a word of it.

"Jacin," she started, though her voice was soft and she knew he wouldn't listen. "Jacin, I'm fine, I promise."

"You're not," he said, arriving at the Sewing room and stepping around the chair so that they were face-to-face.

Winter's heart was beating erratically, though she knew there was no medical reason. "I was walking around our room just fine this morning- you can ask Cress-"

"I don't want you to get hurt again, okay? Please, just be careful."

Winter swallowed and nodded. He looked more hurt than she felt, and so she did not argue the matter any longer.

Instead, she simply watched as he walked away, before bracing herself on the handlebars of her chair- and standing up.

* * *

Cress hurried to Advanced Computer Programming, her footsteps swift and silent across the linoleum floors. She had forgotten her books in her room, and now she was going to be late.

Walking quickly, she paid no heed to her surroundings until a finger tapping on her shoulder startled her so much that she nearly dropped the books that she had gone through all this trouble to get.

Whirling around, she expected to see on of her friends- Cinder or Iko or Scarlet, or stars, even Carswell, but the face full of contempt leering down at her, the face of _Sybil,_ had her stumbling back a step and trying to regain her quick pace.

Lips curving into a feline grin, Sybil started talking as though they'd been in the middle of a conversation. "It's all that Robotics girl's fault."

"What?" Cress asked, mentally berating herself as her feet came to a standstill and she paused to listen.

Sybil gestured gracefully with her hand through the window of the nearby sewing room, to where Cress could see Winter limping across the room, her wheelchair abandoned in the back corner. "What we did to her, is because of what that- _Cinder_ did to Levana."

Cress was suddenly aflush with a vivid memory- a volleyball soaring through the air, the shriek of a whistle, Levana, dazed and disoriented, being propped up from the floor where she had fallen.

"That was an _accident_ ," Cress said firmly.

Sybil laughed, a hauntingly melodious sound. "Can you prove that this-" she pointed to Winter once more- " _wasn't?"_

And with that, Sybil turned on her heel and walked away.

Cress could not get to the computer lab fast enough.

* * *

Their study group was far more subdued than it should have been, mostly due to Iko's lack of cheerfulness. She sat in the corner, bent over her homework and tugging at her braids.

Cinder felt awful, like this was her fault somehow. She knew they all probably felt that way. She kept going over _what if_ scenarios in her head, even though it would do nothing.

She was about to bang her head against the table in frustration when a breathless and red-faced Cress stumbled into the computer lab, her voice so high and fast she was barely understandable. "I don't know why I just did that but I... There were these awful pictures and I didn't mean to but then Sybil... and I was just so angry and I couldn't..."

It was Jacin who spoke up. "Calm down, shortcake. What did you do?"

Cress collapsed into a chair and put her face in her hands.

For a few long moments, Cinder, along with everyone else, just _stared_ at her, waiting.

After what seemed like an eternity, she lifted her head and spoke slowly, recounting first her conversation with Sybil, before continuing. "I was _so_ angry, I mean, what an awful thing to do to someone? So I went to the computer lab- and I don't know why exactly but I saw Levana there, she was updating some blog or something, but then she went to the bathroom and she left her phone, and so I took it and unlocked it with a quick code and there were these awful pictures of her- did you know she's had plastic surgery? So I found these pictures of her _before_ all the surgeries and-" Cress took a shuddering breath. "And so I posted them online and then I covered it all up and then I left and-"

She was cut off by a high-pitched whistle. "That's amazing!" said Carswell, draping an arm over her shoulders.

Her reaction was anything but comforting, as Cress continued to tremble, winding her long blonde hair around her hands in fistfuls. "I just can't..."

Cinder was still slack-jawed in disbelief that Cress, sweet, quiet, demure Cress, had done such a thing.

And all for what? A feud Cinder had had with Levana since before they'd even started attending Luna Academy. Funny how she had barely known Cress for even a fraction of the time she had known Levana, and already Cinder knew that she was a friend worth having.

Cress's nervous exhilaration did not fade even once their study group was over, but as they walked past their room- and right past Levana, cowered in the corner and gawking at her phone in absolute horror, Cinder swore she saw a hint of pride on her friend's face.


	17. Peony

**Author's Note:** _For all of you who wanted Kaider- this one's for you :) It's a start, because I don't want it to seem rushed/unnatural. And if you'd like to leave any ideas about the Ball, please feel free to!_

 _Sorry for the absence of some of the characters (Scarlet, Wolf, Jacin, Winter, etc.) I promise the next chapter will focus more on them!_

Cinder was going to be late. She had a Robotics competition and the bus left in five minutes and she had left her books in her room. Now, she was sprinting through the halls, ignoring Iko's frantic texts of _where are you? You can't leave me. It was your idea to drag me to this anyway!_

Suddenly, another notification startled her- Darth Vader's theme blasting at full force from her phone's tiny speakers. Grumbling, she knew there were only two people whom she considered dark enough for this ringtone- her spoiled sister Pearl, and her stepmother Adri. Slowing her pace just slightly, she grimaced as Adri's face, pale and gaunt from too much makeup, filled the screen.

Sighing, she picked it up, knowing that the consequences if she didn't, would somehow end up being worse than a conversation with Adri. "Yes?" she said tersely.

"Cinder, now is not the time for this attitude," Adri snapped in reply.

Cinder rolled her eyes. "Seriously, I have a robotics competition and I can't be late. Can we please just have one conversation without one of your lectures?"

"Cinder. This just proves how little you care about your _sister."_ Adri said.

"What?" asked Cinder, slowing her pace once more. "Peony? What happened to her? Is she alright?"

"She is not alright," Adri said briskly. "She is in the hospital. She collapsed last night."

* * *

Iko sent her fifty-third text to Cinder, offering the Robotics teacher a bright smile as she chirped, "She'll be here any minute, I promise!" for what felt like the millionth time.

 _Come on Cinder, where are you?_

She tapped her foot impatiently, heel clicking against the linoleum floor.

"Iko, we are leaving, with or without you and Ms. Linh," the teacher replied.

"What?!" Iko exclaimed. "No, I told you she was coming, I promise she'll be here soon-"

"Iko."

Iko shook her head. She didn't think they'd actually leave, not without their best member.

But she realized how wrong she was too late, as the teacher shut the bus door and the vehicle rolled away, leaving Iko standing alone in the parking lot.

* * *

Kai was heading to football practice when he received a call from Iko. "Hello?"

"Kai! Thank the stars! Have you seen Cinder?" Iko's voice was hurried and breathless.

"No. I haven't." Kai replied, before adding in a more urgent tone, "is everything okay?"

"I don't know," Iko said, her tone rising in pitch with each word. "She didn't show up for Robotics and the bus just left without us and I haven't been able to reach her and-"

Kai frowned, brow creasing with worry. "I'll look for her, okay?"

After what had happened to Winter, after what Cress had done to Levana, who knew what awful sort of thing could have happened to Cinder? Forget football, Kai _had_ to make sure she was alright.

He slipped his phone into his pocket and turned on his heel, practically sprinting back up the hallway. He had just made the first left when he nearly ran right into her.

Her face was red and streaked with tears that she had tried to cover with a few loose strands that had fallen from her ponytail. Her brown eyes were rimmed with red and her breathing was hitched.

As soon as she saw him she gasped and made to turn away, but Kai put a gentle hand on her shoulder before she could run.

"Cinder?"

* * *

Stars. Of all the people she could have run into, why did it have to be Kai?

She could practically hear Iko lecturing her on what a mess she was, as she wiped her tears away with her sleeve and stammered out, "I'm fine."

Adri's words still stung- not even the initial news but the flippant way her stepmother had declared, _I'm surprised you care Cinder. If you'd like you can get a ride home to see her._ And then she had proceeded to berate Cinder for not being able to afford the trip home. As if it was Cinder's fault that she could not possibly pay for a flight ticket and then lodging because if she had to stay with Adri and Pearl there was a strong possibility they'd kill each other.

But Cinder couldn't afford it, because Adri had given her close to nothing. And she felt horribly guilty because during her short time here she had forgotten what it was like to actually have to pay for something.

She was attending the school on a full-ride science scholarship- and at Iko's insistence that she try and start over someplace new- so she had nothing to worry about. Also, there were perks to having Iko as a friend- namely the fact that her parents owned a popular hotel chain and were fabulously wealthy. Iko was always offering to assist Cinder financially, but Cinder was too proud to take such offers.

"Clearly, you aren't," Kai's voice shook her from her stupor. "And Iko has been looking everywhere for you...something about Robotics..."

Cinder blinked. "What?" Then she remembered what she had been on her way to do before her world had fallen apart.

Before Adri had told her that her sister had fallen into a coma and the doctors were saying that she might never wake up.

* * *

Cress was on her way to Advanced Computer Programming when a blur of designer clothes and blue hair streaked past her, causing her to nearly fall over.

"I'm so sorry, Cress!" Iko called over her shoulder, already far ahead of her.

"Are you okay?" Cress replied, quickening her pace even though the computer lab was in the other direction.

Iko stopped and whirled around to face her, eyes blazing. "Yes, I'm fine," she said tersely. "But have you seen Cinder? She won't return my calls and Kai said he'd look for her."

Cress shook her head. "I haven't. But have you seen Levana? After what I did I'm worried..."

What if it was _her_ fault that Levana was after Cinder? Who knew what had happened to her now. Blue eyes wide, she said to Iko, "tell her I'm so, so sorry."

Iko frowned. "What?"

"About those pictures- that's probably why Levana's done something to her," Cress stammered.

 _"It was you?"_ said another voice, shrill and irate.

Iko whirled around, her handbag hitting Cress as she did so. A too-pretty face sneered down at her.

"You horrible, _horrible bi-_ " Levana started, but Cress was already streaking down the hall, Iko close behind her.

* * *

Iko had been playing tennis for months now, and she liked to think that she had become somewhat athletic during the season. But now, as she half-ran, half stumbled down the hall way in her stilettos, she realized how little endurance she actually had.

"But if..." she panted to Cress, "Levana didn't...know who posted... the pictures and... she was not...with Cinder-" she was far too grateful when a teacher barked at them to stop running in the halls and she could slow her pace to a walk. "Then where's Cinder?" she finished.

Cress shrugged. "I haven't seen her. But Levana knows it's me now... stars, she is going to make my life miserable."

Iko was about to offer a sympathetic reply when the sound of soft voices had her biting her lip.

"I just don't know if she's going to be okay, and I can't even go and _see_ her..."

"She sounds strong. I'm sure she'll be fine."

Iko clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes widening as she turned to Cress. _It's Cinder and Kai,_ she mouthed.

Cress just gave her a quizzical look. "What?"

"Cinder and-"

They stepped around the corner as if on cue, Kai's arm draped around Cinder's shoulders. "Oh, hey Iko." he said. "I, uh, found her..."

Cinder looked up at Iko then. Her face was dry but Iko knew she had been crying- her eyes were puffy and her lips were dry. But Cinder almost never cried. The only other time she had was...

Honestly, Iko could not recall it and they had been best friends for years.

"What happened?!"

* * *

Cinder had never seen Iko so livid, not even during the whole debacle with Carswell and Cress's test. In two quick strides she was at Cinder's side, pulling her friend to her before rounding on Kai.

"I swear on all the stars if you've done something to her-"

"Iko. It's not Kai. He was actually trying to help me." Cinder assured, prying herself out of Iko's grip.

"With what?" Iko asked.

Cinder took a deep breath and lifted her chin slightly. "Peony's in the hospital. She collapsed earlier today and she hasn't woken up since. The doctors say she's in a coma indefinitely. Something about internal bleeding in her head..." Cinder trailed off, not wanting to think about the medical terminology. She hated how they used such long words. It was like they were trying to hide the gruesome truth of what they were saying.

A moment later she found herself pressed against Iko once more, one of her blue braids in her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Cinder. If there's anything I can do- you _know_ my parents can arrange for you to visit her, if Adri won't..."

Cinder shook her head. "Iko, you don't have to. Can we just...talk about something else?" She desperately needed some sort of distraction.

Cress spoke next, startling Cinder. She hadn't even known she was there. "We can talk about how Levana knows it was me..." she said quietly.

Cinder sighed. "She was bound to find out sooner or later, right?"

Cress nodded. "I guess, but now she is going to be after me..."

"When hasn't she been out to get us?" Iko pointed out with a derisive snort.

Cinder shook her head. That was her fault, too. Iko caught her eye, and with one look she was able to convey exactly what she needed.

"Guys," Iko said suddenly. "Let's talk about something more fun! Like the Peace Ball. It's next month, you know."

Cinder gave Iko a relieved smile, as soon enough, Cress and Iko were chatting animatedly about dresses and decorations.

Kai walked over to her once more, his brown eyes full of meaning as he said, "Cinder, if you need anything at all, I'm here."

Cinder swallowed, suddenly hyperaware of her heartbeat. Of the fact that his shoulder was brushing against hers, and if either of them moved their fingers in the slightest they would be holding hands.

Of course, Iko had to see Cinder's flustered expression and start down the hall with Cress, leaving her with him.

"Thank you," she said after a long, long moment.

Kai just nodded and turned away, muttering an almost unintelligable _you don't have to thank me._

He walked away, down the hall and taking the first right.

Cinder stared at the place where he had been for a long, long time.


	18. Cooking

Second semester brought with it the end of Study Hall, and Scarlet was less than pleased. She _liked_ Study Hall. Really, though, she liked spending time with Wolf and Emilie, though Emilie liked to tease that it was more the former than the latter.

But Study Hall had turned into Cooking, and Wolf was in Cooking, too. So maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

At least, she hoped not, because as she walked to her first class, trying to keep up with his long, lumbering strides, she knew it was too late to turn back.

The cooking room was as lavish and advanced as the rest of the school, shining and pristine with state-of-the-art equipment that Scarlet almost laughed at.

This was most certainly not what she had expected. Her idea of a kitchen was the cozy one at her grandmother's house, the one with worn pots and a merrily crackling stove and handmade oven mitts.

The teacher- at least, Scarlet thought he was the teacher- lounged lazily on a chair in the corner, flipping through a tattered copy of _Cooking Light_ magazine.

He looked up when he saw them approach, crossing the room to stand before the gathering class. "Hello, and welcome to cooking," he said in an almost bored voice that was in stark contrast to the grandeur of his words. "I'm Gilles. Professor, Mister, Sir, whatever."

Scarlet rolled her eyes.

"Today we're going to start off simple. Cutting and slicing techniques," he continued, selecting a knife from the stand at his right and turning around to grab some carrots from the sink behind him. Slapping a cutting bored onto the table with a definitive _thud,_ he started to cut the carrots, droning on and on about the proper way to hold it and how to avoid getting your fingers chopped off.

Only half listening, Scarlet fiddled with the zipper on her sweatshirt, listless and bored until he said, "ready to try it on your own?"

* * *

Wolf was bent over his own cutting board, a knife in one hand and a plump red tomato in the other. He was trying- and ultimately failing- to cut it as thin and even as Gilles had in his demonstration. Really, he hadn't been teaching so much as talking about himself and his supposedly renowned restaurant, the Rieux Tavern, and how it was 'the epitome of French cuisine'.

Wolf snorted as he continued to cut, his slices choppy and uneven- some far too thick, and some slivers that shriveled in the pools of juice.

"Having trouble there?" Scarlet said from her spot beside him. She reached across the table to help him, situating the knife properly in his hand and adjusting his grip.

Wolf was pretty sure he was the same color as the tomato now, as he muttered a hurried, "thank you," before turning away.

He finished cutting it just as Gilles approached their table. "What are you doing?" he said, shaking his head at Wolf.

Wolf chewed his lip sheepishly. "Um..."

"We're going to be making a caprese salad!" Gilles continued. "It won't work with-" he reached and picked up one of Wolf's flimsier slices between two fingers. "this."

"Uh...sorry?"

Gilles slapped another tomato onto Wolf's cutting board. "Practice makes perfect. Again!"

Wolf sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

But out of the corner of his eye, he was sure he saw Scarlet smile at him.

* * *

"Cinder!" Iko trilled.

She and Cress were huddled over her computer, brows furrowed in deep concentration.

"What? Iko, I swear if it's another dress for the ball _I don't care._ I'm going to be wearing jeans and you can't-"

"Oh, hush," Iko said with a wave of her hand, glittery manicured fingernails sparkling as they caught the light. "You _are_ going to wear a dress, but that's besides the point. The point," she said as Cinder was mid-eye-roll, "is that Cress and I are geniuses."

"Oh, please, enlighten me on your genius-ness, oh great one," Cinder said sarcastically.

"It's um, your sister's hospital records. I was able to hack into the system and retrieve them." Cress said quietly.

Iko flashed Cinder a bright I-told-you-so grin and scooted over on her chair so that Cinder could see.

"Peony Linh. Coma induced by severe head trauma..." Cinder trailed off, not wanting to read it out loud. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't. "She'll wake up," she said softly, more to convince herself than anything.

"Of course," said Iko. "She's strong." She put an arm around her friend, leaning her head on her shoulder.

Cress nodded. "She'll be alright, Cinder," she said.

"Thank you." Cinder said, wishing she believed it.

* * *

Emilie burst into the cooking room, panting and out of breath. There was a slight sheen to her round face and her blonde curls were askew. "Sorry I'm late!" she said, offering Scarlet a quick wave.

"Care to explain why you were?" the teacher said in his lazy tone

"I just had to help a friend get to class. Winter Hayle," Emilie explained.

Since Jacin's Medical Microbiology class was in the science building, he had tasked Emilie with safely getting her to Sewing, seeing as they both had classes in the Home Economics building directly after gym.

"Very well," the teacher replied, bobbing his head. "I'm Gilles. Grab a tomato and have a seat."

Emilie did as told, pulling up a stool beside Scarlet and beginning her work, smiling at her friend and roommate. "How's the class?" she asked quietly. The teacher seemed rather odd, if she was being completely honest.

Scarlet shrugged, before pointing at Gilles and making a gagging gesture. "He makes me hate being French," she whispered.

Emilie giggled, looking at Gilles from behind her curtain of golden hair. "He's French?"

Scarlet nodded. "Owns some restaurant near Paris," she said, now slicing into a log of mozzarella cheese. "You missed his whole advertisement. Rieux Tavern this and Rieux Tavern that."

The name struck Emilie as familiar, and her eyes widened. "Rieux Tavern? Oh my stars, that's where like, all the French celebrities go!" her blue eyes landed on Gilles once more. "We have to ask him if he knows anyone!"

"Please, his ego does _not_ need another boost," Scarlet replied dryly, pressing a slab of mozzarella into her mouth when Gilles' back was turned.

Wolf caught her eye and chuckled a bit. He was arranging his own sloppily chopped ingredients haphazardly onto the plate, and as Scarlet started tearing her basil, turning to him, Emilie smiled a bit and decided it was best to leave them be.

* * *

Scarlet added a drizzle of olive oil over her plate with a flourish, over-exaggerating the gesture in a mocking imitation of how Gilles had demonstrated it.

" _Voila_ ," she said in a dry tone.

Wolf clapped, laughing. It was a rare thing to see, Scarlet noticed, but the smile suited him, making his striking green eyes impossibly brighter.

Scarlet looked at his own plate, sloppy and disorganized, with all the basil piled in one corner, drowning in tomato juice. "I think yours looks delectable," she said with a wry smile.

"Thank you," Wolf replied, still looking rather sheepish. "Evidently," he lowered his voice. "Gilles does not think so."

As if on cue, their teacher strode over to their table. "Did you sign up for this class?" he asked Wolf.

"Uh...my mom did..." Wolf admitted.

Scarlet bit her lip to keep from laughing, not wanting to embarrass him further.

Gilles shook his head. "Well, you could definitely use my expertise, Monsieur Kesley," he replied, thumbing a stray smudge of olive oil off of the counter.

" _You_ could definitely use a reality check," Wolf mumbled under his breath at Gilles' retreating back.

Scarlet _did_ laugh then, a derisive snort that she quickly covered up with a hacking cough. But Wolf met her eye and smiled again, a small quirk of his mouth that suggested they were in on a secret.

"He's a pain, isn't he?" Scarlet said, speaking far too loud.

She felt the jab of Emilie's elbow into her side.

Wolf nodded. "I guess we'll just have to deal with it. It's only a semester, after all. How bad can it be?"

* * *

Iko was standing in the hallway, her face half-hidden behind a gigantic poster. There was a roll of duct tape in her other hand, dangling from her wrist alongside her collection of glittering bangles.

Ripping off a piece of tape and holding it in her mouth, she grimaced slightly at the bitter taste as she flattened the poster against the wall. It was a flashy thing, dripping with sequins as it advertised the annual Peace Ball held at Luna Academy. Of course, Iko was on the dance committee, and seeing as the event was only a month away, it only made sense to start advertising now.

As she secured the poster up with the tape, she stepped back to admire her handiwork.

"That's not going to hold for long," said a voice behind her.

"Who asked you?" Iko snapped back, whirling around to see who it was.

Liam Kinney scowled back at her.

"Oh, it's you," Iko said loftily, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm just saying..." Liam reached across her and with one hand, he gently tapped his fist against the wall.

The poster fluttered to the ground. Iko hardly noticed, because with his hand like that- his arm was brushing against her shoulder. Heart pounding, it took a valiant amount of effort for her to compose herself.

She bent to pick up the poster, sticking it back on the wall with another generous piece of tape.

"There," she said.

"I don't suppose you're going with anyone to the ball?" Liam asked curiously.

"Why would you ask that?" Iko replied, arching a brow.

Liam shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. And if Iko wasn't mistaken, his cheeks looked a bit pink. "No reason..." he said quietly.

"Whatever," Iko said flippantly, tossing her hair over her shoulder. And with that, she turned and strolled away, pushing all thoughts of Liam out of her mind.


	19. The Peace Ball

"Cress, a little help here?" Iko called, her voice muffled thanks to the safety pins she was holding in her mouth.

"Can I open my eyes?" Cinder's irritated voice replied as she huffed out a frustrated sigh.

"No," Iko replied firmly, for what felt like the millionth time.

They were at a small boutique in the town near Luna Academy, a shop that smelled like flowery perfume and was full of billowing ball gowns. Iko had practically dragged Cinder there, Cress and Winter in tow as her fashion consultants. Scarlet had claimed to be feeling unwell, and even Iko wasn't persistent enough to try and force her here.

She was going to get Cinder a dress, though, even if she was currently holding her best friend in place by the skirt of the thing as she attempted to pin the bodice just right.

Cinder tapped her foot impatiently. "C'mon, Iko, I've been standing here for forever," she said.

Iko swatted her arm with her free hand. "It hasn't even been half an hour!" she replied indignantly, fiddling with the zipper.

Cress arrived then, breathless, and wearing a gown of her own- a satiny glass-blue garment that came just past her knees. "Yeah?" she said.

Iko nodded approvingly. "That looks good on you," she said, still tweaking the zipper. Lowering her voice, she whispered, "I think it's stuck."

 _"What?"_ Cinder snapped, causing Iko to jump and nearly drop her safety pins. "I swear to all the stars, Iko, if you get me stuck in this dress..."

"Oh, hush," Iko replied. "There's no need to panic, Cress's got it, _right?"_ She gave Cress a pointed look

Sighing, Cress brushed back a stray lock of her golden hair before trying the zipper herself. For a few heart-racing moments during which Iko said mental goodbyes to everyone she knew- because Cinder would kill her if she didn't make this work- Cress frowned. Then, she smiled and pulled the zipper up. "There."

Iko exhaled. "Okay. Thanks. Cinder, you can look now."

"Finally," Cinder griped before she opened her eyes.

* * *

Cinder was surprised to realize she didn't hate it. It was silver, with a modest neckline and capped sleeves. The skirt was full, but not so long where she would trip. When she turned, it swirled around her legs, the fabric soft and smooth against her skin.

"Well?" Iko said expectantly, arms folded across her chest.

"I...um," Cinder wrapped her arms around herself.

"And," Iko said, stepping towards her, "it'll actually look decent with those boots you like. You're welcome." She curled her lip with distaste at Cinder's black combat boots, which were haphazardly on the floor of the dressing room.

"I like it," Cress said quietly, tugging at the hem of her own blue dress. Cinder thought it suited her- graceful and elegant, with flowing sleeves and lace around the bodice that traveled up to her neck.

"So do I," Cinder replied, prompting Iko to give a triumphant squeal: " _I knew it!"_

"Alright, now, let's take it off before you get it dirty," Iko said urgently.

Cinder rolled her eyes, but she knew her friend was right- she had a tendency to leave dirt and grease stains on nearly everything she touched. Gathering her fine brown hair and holding it so that Iko could unzip it, she turned around once more.

* * *

Winter was in her own dressing room still, staring blankly at her reflection. She was in a floor-length, strapless gown that was a rich purple color, reminiscent of the fancy lavender soap her stepmother never allowed her to touch. There was beadwork done at the top and at the hem, tiny stones that glittered like snowflakes.

Her friends had left a bit ago for her to try it on, and it was only now that she remembered that they were probably looking for her.

As if on cue, there was a knock on her dressing room door. "Winter?" Iko's voice floated in.

"Yes, come in," Winter replied, whirling around and watching the skirt fan out as she opened the door.

Iko opened it- and her jaw dropped.

Winter flushed, long lashes fluttering as she looked down.

"You. Look. Gorgeous." Iko said, grabbing Winter and tugging her out of the dressing room.

Winter gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "It's alright," she muttered, clenching the silky fabric of her skirt in her hands.

Iko's eyes widened. "It's more than alright, believe me," she assured, presenting Winter to a stunned Cress and Cinder.

Winter wondered why they looked so floored- she thought they looked much prettier than her. "You both look beautiful," she told them.

Cinder snorted, rolling her eyes. "Easy for you to say."

Winter frowned. "What?" she asked, tilting her head to one side in question.

"Really?" Cinder deadpanned, gesturing to Winter with her hands.

Winter furrowed her brows, frown deepening. She gave Cress a quizzical look, hoping her roommate might be able to explain. But Cress was looking elsewhere, focusing on what Iko was saying.

"Let's talk dates!" she said, sweeping extra pins and loose swaths of fabric to a corner of the long daybed so that they could sit. She settled onto the plush pink cushions, Cress and Cinder perching awkwardly beside her.

"Dates?" Winter said, laughing a little as she shook her head. "I'm not going with a date."

"Aren't you going with Jacin?" Cress asked quietly.

Winter felt her face grow hot. "Yes. As friends," she stammered out in reply. Jacin wasn't her _date._ That was silly. He was a friend, a dear friend, but nothing more.

"Right," Iko said, giving her a wink.

"What about _you?"_ Winter replied, lifting her chin. "Has Liam asked you yet?"

Iko made a face. " _Liam?!"_ she exclaimed. "Stars, _no._ Why would he ask me?"

It was Winter's turn to wink, then, and secretive smiles passed between her, Cress, and Cinder.

Iko quickly changed the subject, chattering on about dresses and decorations and refreshments.

Winter bit back a laugh, eager for the exciting night that was sure to come.

* * *

It was about half an hour before the ball started that Scarlet finally began to get ready. Her dress, unlike the other girls, was nothing new. It was an old dress sent from home that she'd worn to a party with her grandmother ages ago.

A brilliant ruby red, it had a plunging neckline and an asymmetrical cut. It was a tad too tight in some places, to the point where it made her more self-conscious than she wanted to admit, but it was all she had.

It was her own fault, really, for pretending to be sick during Iko's shopping excursion. But this would have to do.

Tugging at her skirt, she stood in front of the mirror, Emilie's borrowed curling iron in hand. Her auburn hair was already quite curly, but at her roommate's insistence, she was now making an attempt to tame it, just a little.

A red ribbon of hair wound around the iron, she tapped her foot, counting in her head.

As she went to release it, the iron brushed the back of her neck, sending a searing pain down it. She cursed in French, nearly dropping the iron before unplugging it and angrily setting it down on the bathroom counter.

"Forget it," she said to her wild-haired reflection, dark brown eyes flashing with annoyance.

She dragged a hand through her hair, calming it ever so slightly. Then, she looked at her reflection one last time, tugged down her dress, and whirled out of the bathroom.

Emilie was waiting for her, already dressed. Of course, _she_ looked perfect- in an adorable, baby-pink dress with a sweetheart neckline, her blonde ringlets perfectly arranged, her makeup artfully done. Her lipgloss was the exact same shade as the dress, and her blue eyes were lined with a dark liner that made them pop.

Scarlet crossed her arms over her chest, sliding her feet into her high-tops. "Ready to go?" she asked as Emilie carefully buckled her dainty sandals.

She nodded. "Are you meeting up with your friends?" she asked.

Scarlet nodded. "Iko wants us at her room for pictures," she said. "You're coming, right?"

Though Emilie had found her own group of friends, Scarlet still didn't want to exclude her. She had known Emilie from the beginning, after all.

Emilie shook her head. "It's alright. I'm meeting with Kate, remember?"

Scarlet had met Kate Fallow a few times. She was nice enough and very smart, but she was also one of Carswell's many ex-girlfriends, and that seriously made Scarlet doubt her intelligence.

"Okay, have fun," Scarlet replied, tying the laces of her shoes and heading towards the door.

"You too!" Emilie chirped in reply.

Scarlet rolled her eyes. This was going to be so much _fun._

* * *

Cress adjusted the wreath of flowers adorning her hair for the umpteenth time. She couldn't stop fidgeting, and she didn't even know why. Iko was bustling around the room, arranging cameras and scenes and props.

She looked absolutely incredible, in a glittering gold dress with a slit up one side. Her blue braids were arranged into a bun atop her head that resembled a flower, adorned with gold beads, and her makeup was flawless, complete with bright red lipstick and shimmering golden eyeshadow that Cress swore made her eyes look blue, somehow.

All in all, though, she was making Cress feel very underdressed in her modest blue gown, accentuated only by the lacework and the flower circlet, as well as a pair of dangly silver earrings that she had borrowed from Winter.

Suddenly, Iko clapped, startling them all. "Okay, _places."_ she said.

Grabbing Cress by the shoulders, she steered her over in front of the camera that was set up on a tripod, positioning her just so.

"Don't move." Iko warned, spinning away to go find Cinder.

Cress obliged, standing perfectly still as Iko brought over Cinder, Winter, and then a very exasperated Scarlet, meticulously arranging each of them.

Carefully, she adjusted Cress's headband and the silver tiara-like circlet Winter had chosen to wear, before setting the camera timer and barely getting into her own position in time.

Cress smiled for the camera, wishing she felt nearly as jubilant as she looked.


	20. A Stolen Kiss

Cress was already exhausted before they even got to the ball; Iko's photo session had been rather taxing. She was seeing spots from the bright flashing of the camera, and her limbs were stiff from posing for too long.

But she made an attempt to be optimistic as they walked into the gym-turned-dance-hall, greeted by pounding music and dancing students.

Cress shrank back against the wall. Stars, if she had to _dance..._ She tugged at the soft skirt of her dress, ducking her head and trying to cover her face with her hair. She caught a glimpse of Carswell, wearing an impeccably tailored suit, and looked away, flushing. She didn't want him to see her.

But Iko grabbed her hand and tugged her along, plunging them both into the crowd.

* * *

Kai had arrived early, and was standing to the side with Jacin, neither of them wanting to even attempt the chaos that was the dance floor. Jacin was leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest as his blue eyes darted around the room, undoubtedly searching for Winter.

Kai was standing upright, absently tapping his foot along to the pulsating beat of the music. It was so loud he could feel it reverberating through him. He was wearing one of his many suits- his father said appearance was of the utmost importance- and waiting.

For what, he wasn't quite sure.

But it certainly wasn't for Levana, who had somehow found her way over to him.

"Hey, Kaito," she said with a smile.

She was in a deep red dress that was more skin than actual dress, the color reminding Kai of blood.

He turned toward Jacin for help, but his friend had disappeared, having finally found Winter.

Kai chewed his lip. "Hi, Levana," he deadpanned.

"I don't suppose you've come with a date?" she asked, leaning in so close Kai thought he might choke on the scent of her heavy perfume.

"Um..." was Kai's only reply. He tried to move, but she literally had him cornered. There were crowds of people at every turn.

Suddenly, he spotted a familiar face just a few feet away. Cinder, hair done in a neater version of her usual ponytail, wearing a beautiful silver dress. She wasn't wearing any makeup, and her feet were clad in a worn pair of combat boots, but Kai thought she looked stunning.

He opened his mouth to call her over, just as Levana pressed her lips to his.

* * *

Cinder's heart stopped. She had found Kai, been about to somehow summon the courage to talk to him...

And he had looked at her. Looked right at her, before he had kissed Levana.

 _He had kissed Levana._

She turned away, eyes stinging with tears. Why was she even crying?

It wasn't like they'd been dating.

She pushed her way through the crowd and out of the gym, pausing in the hallway to catch her breath. To hopefully regain some sort of composure.

Her breathing was hitched and she didn't even know why. Why had he kissed Levana? Why hadn't he said anything to her? And why did it hurt so much?

She slumped against the wall, blinking back the onslaught of tears. But every time she closed her eyes, that was all she saw.

"Cinder?" said a voice.

Forcing herself to look up, Scarlet's face greeted her, her friend's smile quickly morphing into a look of worry. "Are you okay?"

Cinder shook her head. She was most certainly not okay. "Kai," she managed to stammer out.

Scarlet's frown deepened. "What?"

Cinder's reply was cut off from Iko, whose shrill voice preceded her as her friend marched out of the gym. "Cinder! What are you doing here? _And what is Kai doing with Levana?"_

* * *

Kai pulled away roughly, swiping at his mouth.

 _"What are you doing?_ " he exclaimed, putting as much distance between himself and Levana as possible.

She smiled, dipping her shoulders in a graceful shrug.

Kai thought he might throw up. Glowering at her, he stormed away. He had to find Cinder. She had definitely seen that, and Levana knew it.

Wolf stopped him, rather roughly grabbing his arm. "What happened?" he asked, green eyes curious.

Kai shook his head. "Believe me, you don't want to know," he said, pressing a hand to his sickening stomach.

Wolf frowned. "Okay..." he said, and Kai was thankful he didn't press for more information. "Um, have you seen Scarlet?"

"No," Kai replied tersely, saying nothing else before briskly walking away.

He was just about to leave when he ran into Sybil. "Everything alright?" she asked, a smile playing at her lips. "In case you're wondering, I saw Cinder walk just that way-" she pointed, "a bit ago. She looked just devastated, and I can't possibly imagine why..."

Kai clenched his hands into fists, gritting his teeth before turning and walking in that direction.

* * *

Scarlet was in the bathroom with Iko and Cinder, as the former paced back and forth, heels clicking against the linoleum, and the latter stood, still as a statue.

She was still in utter disbelief about what had happened, and she was also furious on Cinder's behalf.

And here they'd thought Kai was their friend.

Something was off, Scarlet decided, watching Iko irately ramble on about what an awful person Levana was.

"Guys," she said, cutting off Iko mid-insult. "I think we should talk to Kai."

Scarlet liked to face problems head-on. She hated the tendency of girls her age to hide everything behind rumors and gossip.

"What?" Iko replied, arching a penciled brow. "You want to talk to that backstabbing jerk?"

"Well, I just want to know what really happened before pointing fingers," Scarlet replied, matching her tone to Iko's.

"Oh, Cinder saw what happened, right?" Iko said, nudging Cinder.

"Cinder also knows Kai, and she probably agrees with me that something isn't right," Scarlet replied, leveling her gaze.

Cinder cleared her throat before speaking. "I think... I think I might want to talk to him," she said quietly.

Iko huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine," she said. "But we're coming with you. For backup,"

Scarlet rolled her eyes, but Iko's blazing eyes caught hers. "I'm serious," she said.

Looping one arm through Cinder's and the other through Scarlet's, Iko practically dragged them out of the bathroom.

* * *

Kai was chewing on his thumbnail.

It was an old habit of his that he hadn't done in years, but now...

Now his finger was close to bleeding. He wandered the halls, searching for Cinder to no avail.

Until, just as he was about to switch thumbs, he saw her exiting the girls' bathroom with Iko and Scarlet.

"Cinder!" he called, quickening his pace.

It was Iko and Scarlet who looked first, the latter holding the former back as Cinder carefully stepped forward.

"Yeah?" she said quietly.

The words tumbled out of Kai's mouth unchecked. "I wanted to apologize. What Levana did... that was all Levana. I had no idea she was going to... anyway, I, um, just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry you had to see that, and I had nothing to do with it. But I still feel awful because... I mean, she knew you were there and that was horrible of her." And here he was, vying for captain of the debate team.

Cinder first reaction was quizzical. He could see her trying to make sense of his jumbled apology.

"Um...I just..." Cinder paused.

Kai was acutely aware of Iko and Scarlet, a respectful distance away, but still probably hanging on to every word.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." Kai said yet again.

"I need some time," Cinder finished

Kai released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"But-"

"What?" Kai asked, a little too quickly. He dragged a hand through his hair, probably messing up the careful style Carswell had convinced him to gel it into.

"Just... thanks, Kai. For apologizing. You didn't have to." And with that, Cinder lifted her chin, going to rejoin her friends. "See you later?" she asked.

Kai just nodded.

* * *

Cinder's heart was racing. He had apologized. He had actually come to her to explain it all...

He really _did_ care. She could not keep herself from smiling as she accepted Iko's hug and Scarlet's less ceremonial fist bump.

Scarlet looked at Iko, arching a brow as if to say, _I told you so._

Iko's only reply was a playful shrug before her usual effervescent smile appeared once more, as she declared, "now, let's go _dance!_ This is a ball, in case you've forgotten."

Cinder laughed, though it was tinged with nerves.

If Kai had felt the need to say he was sorry, that must have meant he wanted to make it clear that he wasn't with Levana.

Which meant that there had to be someone else, and that someone else was her.

She looked over her shoulder to where Kai had just been, but he was no longer there. Smile widening, she promised herself that she would go and find him later.


	21. The Pool

Somewhere along the line, Iko, Scarlet, and Cinder had disappeared, leaving Cress alone in the corner, awkwardly pressed against the wall and trying not to draw attention to herself.

She had inched her way to the snack table, and was now filling herself a cup of punch, carefully balancing the ladle so that it wouldn't spill over.

Eyes narrowed in concentration- because apparently, she could hack into the government no problem, but stars forbid she actually do anything that required a shred of grace or poise- she filled her cup, before raising it to her lips and taking a sip.

It was far too sweet, and she wrinkled her nose in distaste, just as a voice said, "I wouldn't drink that if I were you."

Whirling around, Cress nearly dropped her punch- it was Carswell who had spoken. Smiling at her, he reached and took the plastic cup out of his hand before setting it down on the table. His hand brushed against hers at the motion, and Cress felt her cheeks burn as red as the punch.

"Oh, uh, hi," she stammered.

He just laughed. "Having fun?"

"Not really," Cress admitted, biting her lip and grimacing slightly at the sickly sweet taste of the pink gloss Iko had applied there.

Carswell's lips flipped into a frown. "Why not?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"It's hot. And it's loud and..." _I can't dance._ She trailed off, averting her gaze.

Carswell shook his head. "Well, we can't have that. Do you want to step outside for a breath of fresh air?"

"What?" Cress frowned. "Oh, no, I'll be fine..."

"Nonsense," Carswell proclaimed, and even amidst Cress's protests, he grabbed her hand and gently tugged her towards the door.

The coolness of the night air was comforting, Cress had to admit as they stepped out of the gym.

It was quieter, too, though her ears still rang. They were out by Luna Academy's swim team pool, the water still and clear as it reflected the moonlight. It may have just been a rectangular lap pool, but Cress thought it looked beautiful.

"Better?" Carswell asked, releasing her hand.

"Yeah," Cress said quietly. "Thanks."

They stood in silence for a while, Cress not sure what to say. She wanted to tell him that she was fine, to go back inside and have fun, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

So she didn't.

* * *

Carswell wasn't even mad. He was usually the life of the party, but right now, even as he stole a glance towards the gym...

He didn't mind being where he was- outside with Cress by the pool. It was surprisingly nice. Though the nicest part was probably how good she looked in that dress- an elegant blue piece that made her legs look longer, somehow.

He reached over to adjust the flower crown on her head, seeing as it had slipped a little sideways.

"Anyway," he said, "I'm guessing school dances aren't your forte?"

"Not at all," she replied, offering the smallest of smiles.

Carswell smiled back, opening his mouth to speak once more. But he was cut off by a shrill shriek following the sound of the door banging open.

" _Carswell Thorne, you complete and utter jerk!"_

He whirled around and saw a girl- if she wasn't so angry he would have noticed how pretty she was- storming towards him.

Oh, stars. It was Blakely, one of the girls he'd promised to go with. And if Blakely knew, then aces and spades- that meant Destiny and Athena and maybe even Elia might know too.

"You told me," Blakely continued, "that you weren't going. That you had to help your sick grandmother. That I would be the first person you asked if you became available."

Carswell forced himself not to look at Cress as he put his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, Blakely." He quickly tried to fabricate a lie. "I was going to find you, and I just got lost..."

"With _her_?" Blakely asked, arching a brow as she pointed to Cress.

Only then did Carswell glance over at her. Her sky blue eyes were widened in confusion and shock- and perhaps even a little betrayal.

"Listen, Blakely," Carswell tried again.

She cut him off. "Oh, no. I am done listening to _you._ You did the same thing last year with our group project- don't think I forgot." She lowered her voice to mimic his. "'Oh, sure, Blakely, I'd love to work with you.' Until you blew me off for Kate Fallow, of all people. So I am done listening. I am done talking to you." She had stepped closer to him with each word, and now they were face to face.

Unfortunately, it didn't look like he was getting a kiss. He braced himself for her voice- stars, she was loud- or a slap in the face.

She shoved him, hard.

Catching him by surprise, Carswell did not have time to regain his balance. Not before he stumbled back, his foot catching a slippery spot near the edge of the pool, before, arms flailing, he tumbled into the water.

* * *

Winter was sitting at one of the tables fringing the dance floor with Jacin, sipping her punch even though the sickly sweet taste of it was making her head rush.

"Can we dance?" she asked him hopefully.

Jacin arched a skeptic brow. He didn't even have to say anything for Winter to know the answer.

"Please," she said, batting her eyelashes. It worked with most people.

Jacin was not most people. "I don't dance."

Winter huffed out a small sigh. She wanted to go and find Iko and Scarlet—maybe they would dance with her— but she couldn't just leave Jacin.

Springing to her feet suddenly, she grabbed Jacin's hand in her own without thinking of the implications that might have. "Come on," she said, tugging him gently towards the dance floor.

Stiffly, he stood up and walked with her, though she could tell he wasn't pleased.

Winter twirled into the crowd, lavender skirt swirling around her legs. She spun across the floor, letting the music carry her away. Jacin's hand was stiff in hers, and she was suddenly acutely aware of that.

They were _holding hands._

Though she didn't want to, Winter let go.

* * *

Cress had forgotten she didn't know how to swim.

That would have been nice to remember before she'd practically leapt into the pool after Carswell. Cold water engulfed her, and her arms flailed as the now-sodden fabric of her dress threatened to drag her down.

Why had she even done this? What hadn't she thought about it before?

She knew why, deep down. Seeing that look on Carswell's face, a look of utter shock and disbelief, had been jarring. Cress had hardly ever seen him wear an expression other than his confident, charismatic smirk. But the look on his face when that girl—Blakely—had pushed him had been one of pure terror.

Splashing wildly, Cress struggled to stay afloat. Carswell had no problems, quickly regaining his composure and pushing himself out of the pool in smooth, easy strokes. It only further reminded Cress what a dumb idea this had been in the first place.

She tried to paddle to the edge, but her foot, still clad in those awful heels, snagged in the lane line.

Carswell took off his jacket, trying in vain to wring some of the water out. It was only then that he remembered to look for her.

"Cress!" he called, the panicked look returning once more. He put down his jacket, racing to the edge of the pool once more.

"I'm fine," Cress panted as she used the lane line to tug herself to the wall. She had kicked off her caught shoe, though her foot now felt raw. Once she reached the edge, she attempted to pull herself out of the water.

"Here," said Carswell gently, grabbing her arm and pulling her onto the ledge beside the pool.

"Thanks," she said, wringing the water out of her dress as she stared forlornly at the wayward lane line, her shoe still caught in the middle.

"Anyway," Carswell sat down beside her, placing his head in his hands before he took a deep breath and looked up. "I guess I owe you an explanation."

* * *

"Blakely's an old friend," he started, though even that didn't feel right. Blakely was just one of the many girls who had a crush on him.

"A f-friend?" Cress asked. She was shivering.

"It's complicated," Carswell replied, putting an arm around her without thinking. He was still soaking too, though, so it probably wouldn't do much to help.

"D-did you t-tell her you w-would go to the b-ball with her?" Cress asked. There was a hint of accusatory tone in her words.

"Maybe," Carswell said with a sigh.

Her blue eyes narrowed slightly.

"Fine. Yes. I told her, and I told Destiny, and I told Elia, and I told Athena," he rambled off the names of the girls. "And I told them all that I wasn't going to go, but they'd be the first I'd ask if I did."

He honestly didn't even know why he had ended up coming in the first place. It had been a disaster waiting to happen.

Cress's reply was not what he expected. "If you had all those offers, why did you come and find me?'

"I—" for once, Carswell had no words. "I don't know. I just wanted to spend time with you."

She averted her gaze, looking away. "Oh," she said in a small voice. "Well, I'm sorry."

He laughed at the irony of it. " _You're_ sorry?"

She just nodded.

"Cress. You of all people should not be sorry. I did this to myself," he said. "I should be the one apologizing to you." he dragged a hand through his hair, shaking his head. "Anyway, I'm going to head inside. You want to come?"

"I think I'm just going to stay out here for a bit."

Carswell frowned, but didn't push. He'd already messed up enough things tonight. "Okay," he said, standing up. "See you later, then."

Cress nodded, offering him a small smile.

And with that, Carswell headed back into the gym.

He couldn't help but look back, to see her smile one more time.


End file.
